Methods and apparatus for reducing energy consumed by drones during flight

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatus for reducing energy consumed by drones during flight are disclosed. A drone includes a housing, a motor, and a route manager to generate a route for a flight of the drone based on wind data. The wind data includes turbine-generated wind data provided by turbines that detect airflows received at the turbines. The turbines are located in an area within which a segment of the flight of the drone is to occur. The route is to be followed by the drone during the flight to reduce energy consumed by the drone during the flight.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates generally to methods and apparatus for reducingenergy consumption and, more specifically, to methods and apparatus forreducing energy consumed by drones during flight.

BACKGROUND

A drone typically includes a power source (e.g., a battery) that storesenergy to provide power to operate the drone. The stored energy of thepower source is consumed during flight operations of the drone. Theamount of energy consumed by a drone during a flight originating at adesignated launch location and ending at a designated destinationlocation may be impacted by weather conditions (e.g., airflows, wind,etc.) in one or more area(s) through which the drone passes during theflight. For example, the drone may encounter headwinds and/or downdraftsthat require the drone to consume additional energy in the course ofreaching the destination location. The energy consumed by the droneduring a flight may be reduced when the drone is able to avoid adverseweather conditions (e.g., headwinds and/or downdrafts) and/or when thedrone is able to encounter and/or engage advantageous weather conditions(e.g., tailwinds and/or updrafts).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example environment of use in which an exampledrone reduces its energy usage during flight.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example implementation of a turbine ofFIG. 1 constructed in accordance with the teachings of this disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example implementation of a drone ofFIG. 1 constructed in accordance with the teachings of this disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example implementation of a server ofFIG. 1 constructed in accordance with the teachings of this disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates the example drone of FIGS. 1 and/or 3 being launchedby a first example launch booster.

FIG. 6 illustrates the example drone of FIGS. 1 and/or 3 being launchedby a second example launch booster.

FIG. 7 illustrates the example drone of FIGS. 1 and/or 3 being launchedby a third example launch booster.

FIG. 8 illustrates the example drone of FIGS. 1 and/or 3 being launchedby a fourth example launch booster.

FIG. 9A illustrates the example drone of FIGS. 1 and/or 3 in a firstexample configuration.

FIG. 9B illustrates the example drone of FIGS. 1, 3 and/or 9A in asecond example configuration.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions that may be executed at the example turbine of FIGS. 1and/or 2 to collect and transmit example turbine-generated wind data.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions that may be executed at the example drone of FIGS. 1 and/or3 to collect and transmit example airborne drone-generated wind data.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions that may be executed at the example server of FIGS. 1and/or 4 to generate and transmit example wind data includingturbine-generated wind data and/or airborne drone-generated wind data.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions that may be executed at the example server of FIGS. 1and/or 4 to generate and transmit a route for a flight of a drone basedon wind data including turbine-generated wind data and/or airbornedrone-generated wind data.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions that may be executed at the example drone of FIGS. 1 and/or3 to generate a route for a flight of the drone based on wind dataincluding turbine-generated wind data and/or airborne drone-generatedwind data.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions that may be executed at the example drone of FIGS. 1 and/or3 to obtain a route for a flight of the drone based on wind dataincluding turbine-generated wind data and/or airborne drone-generatedwind data.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions that may be executed at the example drone of FIGS. 1 and/or3 to control the supply of power to the drone and to control the shapeof the drone in connection with launching the drone.

FIG. 17 is an example processor platform capable of executing theinstructions of FIG. 10 to implement the example turbine of FIGS. 1and/or 2.

FIG. 18 is an example processor platform capable of executing theinstructions of FIGS. 11 and 14-16 to implement the example drone ofFIGS. 1 and/or 3.

FIG. 19 is an example processor platform capable of executing theinstructions of FIGS. 12 and 13 to implement the example server of FIGS.1 and/or 4.

Certain examples are shown in the above-identified figures and describedin detail below. In describing these examples, identical referencenumbers are used to identify the same or similar elements. The figuresare not necessarily to scale and certain features and certain views ofthe figures may be shown exaggerated in scale or in schematic forclarity and/or conciseness.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The amount of energy consumed by a drone during a flight may be impactedby weather conditions (e.g., airflows, wind, etc.) in one or morearea(s) through which the drone passes during the flight. For example,the energy consumed by the drone during a flight may be reduced when thedrone is able to avoid adverse weather conditions (e.g., headwindsand/or downdrafts) and/or when the drone is able to encounter and/orengage advantageous weather conditions (e.g., tailwinds and/orupdrafts). Accordingly, it may be advantageous from an energyconsumption standpoint for the drone to take weather conditions intoaccount when planning and/or generating a route to be followed by thedrone during a flight.

Drones which plan and/or generate flight routes that are optimized basedon supplied weather data for a surrounding area are known. In such knowndrone applications, however, the weather data is typically modeled basedon assumptions as to how one or more structure(s) (e.g., one or morebuilding(s)) located within the area might impact an airflow and/or windpassing through the area. Unlike such known drone applications, methodsand apparatus disclosed herein generate a route to reduce energyconsumed during a flight of the drone based on wind data includingturbine-generated wind data and/or airborne drone-generated wind data.As used herein, the term “turbine-generated wind data” refers to winddata (e.g., a direction of an airflow, a speed of an airflow, and alocation of an airflow) sensed, measured, detected and/or generated byor at a turbine (e.g., a wind turbine). As used herein, the term“airborne drone-generated wind data” refers to wind data (e.g., adirection of an airflow, a speed of an airflow, and a location of anairflow) sensed, measured, detected and/or generated by or at anairborne drone (e.g., a drone flying over an area through which anotherdrone may subsequently pass during a flight). The turbine-generated winddata and/or the airborne drone-generated wind data advantageouslyprovide(s) the drone with actual (e.g., not modeled), localized,real-time (or near real-time) data and/or information relating to thecurrent airflow(s) and or wind condition(s) within one or more area(s)through which the drone is to pass during a flight. By taking suchactual, localized, real-time (or near real-time) data and informationinto consideration when generating a route to be followed by the droneduring the flight, the drone is advantageously able to reduce the energyconsumed by the drone during the flight.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example environment of use 100 in which an exampledrone 102 reduces the energy it consumes during flight. In theillustrated example of FIG. 1, the example environment of use 100includes the drone 102 and an example area 104 through and/or over whichthe drone 102 is to pass during a segment of a flight of the drone 102.In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, the flight of the drone 102 is tobegin at an example launch location 106 and end at an exampledestination location 108. The example area 104 of FIG. 1 includes afirst example structure 110 (e.g., a building), a second examplestructure 112, a third examples structure 114, a fourth examplestructure 116, a fifth example structure 118, a sixth example structure120 and a seventh example structure 122. The first, second, third,fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh structures 110, 112, 114, 116, 118,120, 122 are obstacles and/or impediments within the area 104 that thedrone 102 must navigate around, above and/or between when traveling fromthe launch location 106 to the destination location 108 during a flightof the drone 102. In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, a first exampleroute 124 is the shortest and/or most direct (e.g., by distance) routevia which the drone 102 may navigate from the launch location 106 to thedestination location 108 in view of the first, second, third, fourth,fifth, sixth and seventh structures 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 120, 122located within the area 104.

The example environment of use 100 of FIG. 1 includes a first exampleturbine 126 (e.g., a wind turbine). The first turbine 126 is locatedwithin the area 104 through and/or over which the drone 102 is to passduring a segment of a flight of the drone 102. In the illustratedexample of FIG. 1, the first turbine 126 detects a first example airflow128 (e.g., wind blowing to the west) passing through and/or over a firstexample airflow area 130 in which the first turbine 126 is located. Theexample environment of use 100 of FIG. 1 further includes a secondexample turbine 132 that detects a second example airflow 134 (e.g.,wind blowing to the northeast) passing through and/or over a secondexample airflow area 136 in which the second turbine 132 is located, athird example turbine 138 that detects a third example airflow 140(e.g., wind blowing to the east) passing through and/or over a thirdexample airflow area 142 in which the third turbine 138 is located, anda fourth example turbine 144 that detects a fourth example airflow 146(e.g., an updraft of wind) passing through and/or over a fourth exampleairflow area 148 in which the fourth turbine 144 is located.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, one or more of the first, second,third and/or fourth turbine(s) 126, 132, 138, 144 may include a GPSreceiver to receive location data via example GPS satellites 150. Theone or more of the first, second, third and/or fourth turbine(s) 126,132, 138, 144 of FIG. 1 may further include one or more sensor(s) todetect a direction and a speed of a corresponding one of the first,second, third and/or fourth airflow(s) 128, 134, 140, 146 of FIG. 1.Thus, the one or more of the first, second, third and/or fourthturbine(s) 126, 132, 138, 144 of FIG. 1 collect(s) and/or generate(s)wind data including a direction of airflow detected by the turbine, aspeed of the airflow detected by the turbine, and a location of theturbine. The one or more of the first, second, third and/or fourthturbine(s) 126, 132, 138, 144 of FIG. 1 may further include radiocircuitry to transmit the turbine-generated wind data over a network(e.g., a cellular network, a wireless local area network, etc.) to anexample server 152 (e.g., a remote server and/or a cloud server). In theillustrated example of FIG. 1, the one or more of the first, second,third and/or fourth turbine(s) 126, 132, 138, 144 may transmit theturbine-generated wind data to other devices (e.g., the server 152, thedrone 102, etc.) via an example cellular base station 154 and/or via anexample wireless access point 156. In some examples, the one or more ofthe first, second, third and/or fourth turbine(s) 126, 132, 138, 144 maytransmit the turbine-generated wind data to such other devices based onone or more request(s) for the turbine-generated wind data received atthe one or more of the first, second, third and/or fourth turbine(s)126, 132, 138, 144.

The example environment of use 100 of FIG. 1 includes a first exampleairborne drone 158 (e.g., a drone that is in flight). The first airbornedrone 158 is located within the area 104 through and/or over which thedrone 102 is to pass during a segment of a flight of the drone 102. Inthe illustrated example of FIG. 1, the first airborne drone 158 detectsthe first example airflow 128 (e.g., wind blowing to the west) passingthrough and/or over the first example airflow area 130 in which thefirst airborne drone 158 is located. The example environment of use 100of FIG. 1 further includes a second example airborne drone 160 thatdetects the second example airflow 134 (e.g., wind blowing to thenortheast) passing through and/or over the second example airflow area136 in which the second airborne drone 160 is located, a third exampleairborne drone 162 that detects the third example airflow 140 (e.g.,wind blowing to the east) passing through and/or over the third exampleairflow area 142 in which the third airborne drone 162 is located, and afourth example airborne drone 164 that detects the fourth exampleairflow 146 (e.g., an updraft of wind) passing through and/or over thefourth example airflow area 148 in which the fourth airborne drone 164is located.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, one or more of the first, second,third and/or fourth airborne drone(s) 158, 160, 162, 164 may include aGPS receiver to receive location data via the example GPS satellites150. The one or more of the first, second, third and/or fourth airbornedrone(s) 158, 160, 162, 164 of FIG. 1 may further include an inertialmeasurement unit and/or one or more sensor(s) to detect a direction anda speed of a corresponding one of the first, second, third and/or fourthairflow(s) 128, 134, 140, 146 of FIG. 1. Thus, the one or more of thefirst, second, third and/or fourth airborne drone(s) 158, 160, 162, 164of FIG. 1 collect(s) and/or generate(s) wind data including a directionof airflow detected by the airborne drone, a speed of the airflowdetected by the airborne drone, and a location of the airborne drone.The one or more of the first, second, third and/or fourth airbornedrone(s) 158, 160, 162, 164 of FIG. 1 may further include radiocircuitry to transmit the airborne drone-generated wind data over anetwork (e.g., a cellular network, a wireless local area network, etc.)to the example server 152 (e.g., a remote server and/or a cloud server).In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, the one or more of the first,second, third and/or fourth airborne drone(s) 158, 160, 162, 164 maytransmit the airborne drone-generated wind data to other devices (e.g.,the server 152, the drone 102, etc.) via the example cellular basestation 154 and/or via the example wireless access point 156 of FIG. 1.In some examples, the one or more of the first, second, third and/orfourth airborne drone(s) 158, 160, 162, 164 may transmit the airbornedrone-generated wind data to such other devices based on one or morerequest(s) for the airborne drone-generated wind data received at theone or more of the first, second, third and/or fourth airborne drone(s)158, 160, 162, 164.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, the server 152 receivesturbine-generated wind data from one or more of the first, second, thirdand/or fourth turbine(s) 126, 132, 138, 144 of FIG. 1 and/or receivesairborne drone-generated wind data from one or more of the first,second, third and/or fourth airborne drone(s) 158, 160, 162, 164 ofFIG. 1. The server 152 of FIG. 1 generates wind data including theturbine-generated wind data and/or the airborne drone-generated winddata. The server 152 may generate the wind data by combining and/oraggregating turbine-generated wind data received from various ones ofthe first, second, third and/or fourth turbine(s) 126, 132, 138, 144, bycombining and/or aggregating airborne drone-generated wind data receivedfrom various ones of the first, second, third and/or fourth airbornedrone(s) 158, 160, 162, 164, and or by combining the aggregateturbine-generated wind data and the aggregate airborne drone-generatedwind data. In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, the server 152 maytransmit the wind data including the turbine-generated wind data and/orthe airborne drone-generated wind data to other devices (e.g., the drone102, etc.) via the example cellular base station 154 and/or via theexample wireless access point 156 of FIG. 1. In some examples, theserver 152 may transmit the wind data to such other devices based on oneor more request(s) for the wind data received at the server 152.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, based on the received wind dataincluding the turbine-generated wind data and/or the airbornedrone-generated wind data, the drone 102 generates a second exampleroute 166 to be followed by the drone 102 during the flight of the drone102 through and/or over the area 104 from the launch location 106 to thedestination location 108 of FIG. 1. In the illustrated example of FIG.1, while the first route 124 is the shortest and/or most direct (e.g.,by distance) route via which the drone 102 may navigate from the launchlocation 106 to the destination location 108 in view of the first,second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh structures 110, 112,114, 116, 118, 120, 122 located within the area 104, the second route166 is a more energy efficient (e.g., less energy consumption by thedrone 102) route via which the drone 102 may navigate from the launchlocation 106 to the destination location 108 in view of the first,second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh structures 110, 112,114, 116, 118, 120, 122 located within the area 104. For example, whilethe drone 102 would encounter a headwind (e.g., the first airflow 128)when traveling along the first route 124, the drone 102 is able to avoidthe headwind while also encountering the tailwinds (e.g., the secondairflow 134 and the third airflow 140) and the updraft (e.g., the fourthairflow 146) when traveling along the second route 166. As a result ofthe tailwinds and updraft encountered by the drone 102 when travelingalong the second route 166, the drone 102 expends and/or consumes lessenergy when traveling between the launch location 106 and thedestination location 108 relative to the energy that would be expendedand/or consumed by the drone 102 were it to travel along the first route124.

The numbers, sizes, locations, orientations and directions of the areas(e.g., the area 104 and the first, second, third and fourth airflowareas 130, 136, 142, 148), the structures (e.g., the first, second,third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh structures 110, 112, 114, 116,118, 120, 122), the drones not yet flying (e.g., the drone 102), theairborne drones (e.g., the first, second, third and fourth airbornedrones 158, 160, 162, 164), the turbines (e.g., the first, second, thirdand fourth turbines 126, 132, 138, 144), the airflows (e.g., the first,second, third and fourth airflows 128, 134, 140, 146) and the routes(e.g., the first and second routes 124, 166) of FIG. 1 are examples. Theenvironment of use 100 of FIG. 1 may include any number(s), any size(s),any location(s), any orientation(s) and any direction(s) of areas,structures, drones, airborne drones, turbines, airflows and/or routes.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example implementation of a turbine 200constructed in accordance with the teachings of this disclosure. Theblock diagram of FIG. 2 may be used to implement any of the first,second, third and/or fourth example turbines 126, 132, 138, 144 ofFIG. 1. In the illustrated example of FIG. 2, the turbine 200 includesan example wind vane 202, an example anemometer 204, an example GPSreceiver 206, an example altimeter 208, an example radio transmitter210, an example radio receiver 212, an example user interface 214, anexample controller 216, and an example memory 218. However, otherexample implementations of the turbine 200 may include fewer oradditional structures.

The example wind vane 202 of FIG. 2 senses, measures and/or detects adirection of an airflow (e.g., the direction of the first airflow 128 ofFIG. 1). Airflow direction data sensed, measured and/or detected by thewind vane 202 may be associated with one or more time(s) (e.g., timestamped) at which the data was sensed, measured and/or detected by thewind vane 202. Example airflow direction data 230 sensed, measuredand/or detected by the wind vane 202 may be of any type, form and/orformat, and may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium such asthe example memory 218 of FIG. 2 described below.

The example anemometer 204 of FIG. 2 senses, measures and/or detects aspeed of an airflow (e.g., the speed of the first airflow 128 of FIG.1). Airflow speed data sensed, measured and/or detected by theanemometer 204 may be associated with one or more time(s) (e.g., timestamped) at which the data was sensed, measured and/or detected by theanemometer 204. In some examples, one or more of the time(s) associatedwith the airflow speed data may be synchronized with one or more of thetime(s) associated with the airflow direction data. Example airflowspeed data 232 sensed, measured and/or detected by the anemometer 204may be of any type, form and/or format, and may be stored in acomputer-readable storage medium such as the example memory 218 of FIG.2 described below.

The example GPS receiver 206 of FIG. 2 collects, acquires and/orreceives data and/or one or more signal(s) from one or more GPSsatellite(s) (e.g., represented by the GPS satellite 150 of FIG. 1).Typically, signals from three or more satellites are needed to form theGPS triangulation. The data and/or signal(s) received by the GPSreceiver 206 may include information (e.g., time stamps) from which thecurrent position and/or location of the turbine 200 may be identifiedand/or derived, including for example, the current latitude, longitudeand altitude of the turbine 200. Location data identified and/or derivedfrom the signal(s) collected and/or received by the GPS receiver 206 maybe associated with one or more local time(s) (e.g., time stamped) atwhich the data and/or signal(s) were collected and/or received by theGPS receiver 206. In some examples, a local clock is used to timestampthe location data, the airflow speed data, and/or the airflow directiondata to maintain synchronization between the same. Example location data234 identified and/or derived from the signal(s) collected and/orreceived by the GPS receiver 206 may be of any type, form and/or format,and may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as theexample memory 218 of FIG. 2 described below.

The example altimeter 208 of FIG. 2 senses, measures and/or detectsatmospheric pressure from which a corresponding altitude of the turbine200 can be determined. Thus, the altimeter 208 may be utilized as anadditional and/or alternate means, relative to the GPS receiver 206, foridentifying and/or deriving the current altitude of the turbine 200. Thealtimeter 208 is able to sense, measure and/or detect the altitude ofthe turbine 200 when cellular and/or wireless network signals areunavailable to the turbine 200, and also when signals from GPSsatellites (e.g., the GPS satellite 150) are unavailable to the turbine200. Altitude data sensed, measured and/or detected by the altimeter 208may be associated with one or more time(s) (e.g., time stamped) at whichthe data was sensed, measured and/or detected by the altimeter 208. Insome examples, one or more of the time(s) associated with the altitudedata may be synchronized with one or more of the time(s) associated withthe location data, one or more time(s) associated with the airflow speeddata, and/or one or more of the time(s) associated with the airflowdirection data. Altitude data sensed, measured and/or detected by thealtimeter 208 may be of any type, form and/or format, and may be storedin a computer-readable storage medium such as the example memory 218 ofFIG. 2 described below. In some examples, the altitude data may beincluded among the example location data 234 stored in the examplememory 218.

The example radio transmitter 210 of FIG. 2 transmits data and/or one ormore radio frequency signal(s) to other devices (e.g., the server 152 ofFIG. 1, the drone 102 of FIG. 1, etc.). In some examples, the dataand/or signal(s) transmitted by the radio transmitter 210 is/arecommunicated over a network (e.g., a cellular network and/or a wirelesslocal area network) via the example cellular base station 154 and/or viathe example wireless access point 156 of FIG. 1. In some examples, theradio transmitter 210 may transmit example turbine-generated wind data228 including the example airflow direction data 230, the exampleairflow speed data 232, and/or the example location data 234 describedabove. In some examples, the radio transmitter 210 may transmit theturbine-generated wind data 228 in response to one or more request(s)for the turbine-generated wind data 228 received at the turbine 200 fromanother device (e.g., a request from the server 152 of FIG. 1, a requestfrom the drone 102 of FIG. 1, etc.). Data corresponding to the signal(s)to be transmitted by the radio transmitter 210 may be of any type, formand/or format, and may be stored in a computer-readable storage mediumsuch as the example memory 218 of FIG. 2 described below.

The example radio receiver 212 of FIG. 2 collects, acquires and/orreceives data and/or one or more radio frequency signal(s) from otherdevices (e.g., the server 152 of FIG. 1, the drone 102 of FIG. 1, etc.).In some examples, the data and/or signal(s) received by the radioreceiver 212 is/are communicated over a network (e.g., a cellularnetwork and/or a wireless local area network) via the example cellularbase station 154 and/or via the example wireless access point 156 ofFIG. 1. In some examples, the radio receiver 212 may receive data and/orsignal(s) corresponding to one or more request(s) for theturbine-generated wind data 228. The one or more request(s) for theturbine-generated wind data 228 may be transmitted from another device(e.g., a request from the server 152 of FIG. 1, a request from the drone102 of FIG. 1, etc.). Data carried by, identified and/or derived fromthe signal(s) collected and/or received by the radio receiver 212 may beof any type, form and/or format, and may be stored in acomputer-readable storage medium such as the example memory 218 of FIG.2 described below.

The example user interface 214 of FIG. 2 facilitates interactions and/orcommunications between an end user and the turbine 200. The userinterface 214 includes one or more input device(s) 220 via which theuser may input information and/or data to the turbine 200. For example,the user interface 214 may be a button, a switch, a microphone, and/or atouchscreen that enable(s) the user to convey data and/or commands tothe example controller 216 of FIG. 2 described below, and/or, moregenerally, to the turbine 200 of FIG. 2. The user interface 214 of FIG.2 also includes one or more output device(s) 222 via which the userinterface 214 presents information and/or data in visual and/or audibleform to the user. For example, the user interface 214 may include alight emitting diode, a touchscreen, and/or a liquid crystal display forpresenting visual information, and/or a speaker for presenting audibleinformation. Data and/or information that is presented and/or receivedvia the user interface 214 may be of any type, form and/or format, andmay be stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as the examplememory 218 of FIG. 2 described below.

The example controller 216 of FIG. 2 may be implemented by asemiconductor device such as a microprocessor or microcontroller. Thecontroller 216 manages and/or controls the operation of the turbine 200.The example controller 216 of FIG. 2 includes an example data aggregator224 and an example wind data generator 226. In some examples, thecontroller 216 manages and/or controls the operation of the turbine 200based on data, information and/or one or more signal(s) obtained and/oraccessed by the controller 216 from one or more of the wind vane 202,the anemometer 204, the GPS receiver 206, the altimeter 208, the radioreceiver 212, the user interface 214, the memory 218, the dataaggregator 224 and/or the wind data generator 226 of FIG. 2, and/orbased on data, information and/or one or more signal(s) provided by thecontroller 216 to one or more of the radio transmitter 210, the userinterface 214, the data aggregator 224 and/or the wind data generator226 of FIG. 2.

In some examples, the data aggregator 224 of FIG. 2 determines adirection of an airflow (e.g., the direction of the first airflow 128 ofFIG. 1). For example, the data aggregator 224 may collect, access,obtain, process, determine, and/or otherwise identify the airflowdirection data 230 sensed, measured and/or detected by the wind vane202. The airflow direction data 230 collected, accessed, obtained,processed, determined, and/or otherwise identified by the dataaggregator 224 may include timing information (e.g., time stamps)corresponding to times at which the airflow direction data 230 wassensed, measured and/or detected by the wind vane 202. The dataaggregator 224 may collect, access, obtain, process, determine, and/orotherwise identify the airflow direction data 230 from the wind vane 202and/or from the example memory 218 of FIG. 2 described below.

In some examples, the data aggregator 224 of FIG. 2 determines a speedof an airflow (e.g., the speed of the first airflow 128 of FIG. 1). Forexample, the data aggregator 224 may collect, access, obtain, process,determine, and/or otherwise identify the airflow speed data 232 sensed,measured and/or detected by the anemometer 204. The airflow speed data232 collected, accessed, obtained, processed, determined, and/orotherwise identified by the data aggregator 224 may include timinginformation (e.g., time stamps) corresponding to times at which theairflow speed data 232 was sensed, measured and/or detected by theanemometer 204. The data aggregator 224 may collect, access, obtain,process, determine, and/or otherwise identify the airflow speed data 232from the anemometer 204 and/or from the example memory 218 of FIG. 2described below.

In some examples, the data aggregator 224 of FIG. 2 determines alocation of the turbine 200. For example, the data aggregator 224 maycollect, access, obtain, process, determine, and/or otherwise identifythe location data 234 identified and/or derived from the signal(s)collected and/or received by the GPS receiver 206. The data aggregator224 may additionally and/or alternatively collect, access, obtain,process, determine, and/or otherwise identify the altitude data sensed,measured and/or detected by the altimeter 208. The location data 234collected, accessed, obtained, processed, determined, and/or otherwiseidentified by the data aggregator 224 may include timing information(e.g., time stamps) corresponding to times at which the location data234 was collected, received and/or detected by the GPS receiver 206and/or the altimeter 208. The data aggregator 224 may collect, access,obtain, process, determine, and/or otherwise identify the location data234 from the GPS receiver 206, from the altimeter 208, and/or from theexample memory 218 of FIG. 2 described below.

In some examples, the wind data generator 226 of FIG. 2 generates theexample turbine-generated wind data 228. In some examples, theturbine-generated wind data 228 includes the airflow direction data 230,the airflow speed data 232 and/or the location data 234 described above.In some examples, the wind data generator 226 synchronizes and/orotherwise organizes the turbine-generated wind data 228 based on thetiming information associated with each of the airflow direction data230, the airflow speed data 232, and the location data 234. For example,first data and/or a first data point of the turbine-generated wind data228 may include an airflow direction at a first time, an airflow speedat the first time, and a location of the turbine 200 at the first time.Second data and/or a second data point of the turbine-generated winddata 228 may include an airflow direction at a second time, an airflowspeed at the second time, and a location of the turbine 200 at thesecond time. Turbine-generated wind data 228 generated and/or determinedby the wind data generator 226 may be of any type, form and/or format,and may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as theexample memory 218 of FIG. 2 described below.

In some examples, the controller 216 of FIG. 2 determines whether arequest has been received at the turbine 200 for the turbine-generatedwind data 228. For example, the controller 216 may receive one or moresignal(s), command(s) and or instruction(s) via the radio receiver 212of FIG. 2. If the controller 216 determines that a request for theturbine-generated wind data 228 has been received, the controller 216provides one or more control signal(s) and/or instruction(s) to theradio transmitter 210 of FIG. 2 instructing the radio transmitter 210 totransmit the turbine-generated wind data 228. In response to suchsignal(s) and/or instruction(s), the radio transmitter 210 may transmitthe turbine-generated wind data 228.

In some examples, the controller 216 of FIG. 2 determines whether theturbine-generated wind data 228 of the turbine 200 is to be transmitted.For example, the controller 216 may receive one or more signal(s),command(s) and or instruction(s) indicating that the turbine-generatedwind data 228 is to be transmitted to another device (e.g., the server152 of FIG. 1, the drone 102 of FIG. 1, etc.). In some examples, thetiming of the transmission of the turbine-generated wind data 228 may bepredetermined, scheduled, and/or otherwise defined by an applicationand/or program executing on the turbine 200. In some examples, thetiming of the transmission of the turbine-generated wind data 228 may betriggered by an event. In some examples, one or more user input(s)received via the input device(s) 220 of the user interface 214 of FIG. 2may indicate that the turbine-generated wind data 228 is to betransmitted. If the controller 216 determines that the turbine-generatedwind data 228 of the turbine 200 is to be transmitted, the controller216 provides one or more control signal(s) and/or instruction(s) to theradio transmitter 210 of FIG. 2 instructing the radio transmitter 210 totransmit the turbine-generated wind data 228. In response to suchsignal(s) and/or instruction(s), the radio transmitter 210 may transmitthe turbine-generated wind data 228.

In some examples, the controller 216 of FIG. 2 determines whetherturbine-generated wind data 228 for the turbine 200 is to continue beingcollected and/or generated. For example, the controller 216 may receiveone or more signal(s), command(s) and or instruction(s) indicating thatturbine-generated wind data 228 for the turbine 200 is not to continuebeing collected and/or generated. In some examples, the timing and/orduration of the collection and/or generation of the turbine-generatedwind data 228 may be predetermined, scheduled, and/or otherwise definedby an application and/or program executing on the turbine 200. In someexamples, the timing and/or duration of the collection and/or generationof the turbine-generated wind data 228 may be triggered by an event. Insome examples, one or more user input(s) received via the inputdevice(s) 220 of the user interface 214 of FIG. 2 may indicate thatturbine-generated wind data 228 for the turbine 200 is not to continuebeing collected and/or generated. If the controller 216 determines thatturbine-generated wind data 228 for the turbine 200 is not to continuebeing collected and/or generated, the controller 216 may provide one ormore control signal(s) and/or instruction(s) to one or more of the windvane 202, the anemometer 204, the GPS receiver 206, the altimeter 208and/or the user interface 214 of FIG. 2 indicating thatturbine-generated wind data 228 for the turbine 200 is not to continuebeing collected and/or generated. In response to such signal(s) and/orinstruction(s), one or more of the wind vane 202, the anemometer 204,the GPS receiver 206, the altimeter 208 and/or the user interface 214 ofFIG. 2 may cease sensing, measuring, collecting and/or detecting dataassociated with turbine-generated wind data 228 for the turbine 200.

The example memory 218 of FIG. 2 may be implemented by any type(s)and/or any number(s) of storage device(s) such as a storage drive, aflash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), a random-access memory (RAM), acache and/or any other physical storage medium in which information isstored for any duration (e.g., for extended time periods, permanently,brief instances, for temporarily buffering, and/or for caching of theinformation). The information stored in the memory 218 may be stored inany file and/or data structure format, organization scheme, and/orarrangement. In some examples, the memory 218 stores airflow directiondata 230 sensed, measured and/or detected by the wind vane 202, airflowspeed data 232 sensed, measured and/or detected by the anemometer 204,location data 234 collected, received, identified and/or derived by theGPS receiver 206, altitude data sensed, measured and/or detected by thealtimeter 208, and/or turbine-generated wind data 228 generated by thewind data generator 226 and/or to be transmitted by the radiotransmitter 210 of FIG. 2. The memory 218 is accessible to one or moreof the example wind vane 202, the example anemometer 204, the exampleGPS receiver 206, the example altimeter 208, the example radiotransmitter 210, the example radio receiver 212, the example userinterface 214 and/or the example controller 216 of FIG. 2, and/or, moregenerally, to the turbine 200 of FIG. 2.

While an example manner of implementing a turbine is illustrated in FIG.2, one or more of the elements, processes and/or devices illustrated inFIG. 2 may be combined, divided, re-arranged, omitted, eliminated and/orimplemented in any other way. Further, the example wind vane 202, theexample anemometer 204, the example GPS receiver 206, the examplealtimeter 208, the example radio transmitter 210, the example radioreceiver 212, the example user interface 214, the example controller216, the example memory 218, the example data aggregator 224 and/or theexample wind data generator 226 of FIG. 2 may be implemented byhardware, software, firmware and/or any combination of hardware,software and/or firmware. Thus, for example, any of the example windvane 202, the example anemometer 204, the example GPS receiver 206, theexample altimeter 208, the example radio transmitter 210, the exampleradio receiver 212, the example user interface 214, the examplecontroller 216, the example memory 218, the example data aggregator 224and/or the example wind data generator 226 could be implemented by oneor more analog or digital circuit(s), logic circuits, programmableprocessor(s), application specific integrated circuit(s) (ASIC(s)),programmable logic device(s) (PLD(s)) and/or field programmable logicdevice(s) (FPLD(s)). When reading any of the apparatus or system claimsof this patent to cover a purely software and/or firmwareimplementation, at least one of the example wind vane 202, the exampleanemometer 204, the example GPS receiver 206, the example altimeter 208,the example radio transmitter 210, the example radio receiver 212, theexample user interface 214, the example controller 216, the examplememory 218, the example data aggregator 224 and/or the example wind datagenerator 226 is/are hereby expressly defined to include a tangiblecomputer-readable storage device or storage disk such as a memory, adigital versatile disk (DVD), a compact disk (CD), a Blu-ray disk, etc.storing the software and/or firmware. Further still, the example turbine200 of FIG. 2 may include one or more elements, processes and/or devicesin addition to, or instead of, those illustrated in FIG. 2, and/or mayinclude more than one of any or all of the illustrated elements,processes and devices.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example implementation of a drone 300constructed in accordance with the teachings of this disclosure. Theblock diagram of FIG. 3 may be used to implement any of the first,second, third and/or fourth example airborne drones 158, 160, 162, 164of FIG. 1, and/or the example drone 102 of FIG. 1. In the illustratedexample of FIG. 3, the drone 300 includes an example inertialmeasurement unit 302, an example GPS receiver 306, an example altimeter308, an example radio transmitter 310, an example radio receiver 312, anexample user interface 314, an example controller 316, an example memory318, and an example power source 320. However, other exampleimplementations of the drone 300 may include fewer or additionalstructures.

The example inertial measurement unit (IMU) 302 of FIG. 3 includes anexample accelerometer 322 and an example gyroscope 324. The exampleaccelerometer 322 of FIG. 3 senses, measures and/or detects changes invelocity (e.g., acceleration(s)) of the drone 300. Different changes inthe velocity values sensed, measured and/or detected by theaccelerometer 322 correspond to different accelerations of the drone300. In some examples, the accelerometer 322 is implemented as atriple-axis accelerometer (e.g., a 3-axis accelerometer) such that theaccelerometer 322 senses, measures and/or detects acceleration data foreach of three axes of a coordinate system associated with the drone 300.

The example gyroscope 324 of FIG. 3 senses, measures and/or detectsangular velocity (e.g., rates of rotation) of the drone 300. Differentangular velocity values sensed, measured and/or detected by thegyroscope 324 correspond to different rotational movements of the drone300. In some examples, the gyroscope 324 is implemented as a triple-axisgyroscope (e.g., a 3-axis gyroscope) such that the gyroscope 324 senses,measures and/or detects rate or rotation data for each of three axes ofa coordinate system associated with the drone 300. Based on theacceleration data and the rate or rotation data sensed, measured and/ordetected by the accelerometer 322 and the gyroscope 324, the IMU 302determines a direction and a speed of an airflow (e.g., the directionand the speed of the first airflow 128 of FIG. 1). For example, the IMU302 may determine a direction and a speed of an airflow by comparing anestimated IMU input (e.g., based on the drone's design and motor speed)to an actual and/or measured IMU input (e.g., based on the rate orrotation data sensed, measured and/or detected by the accelerometer 322and the gyroscope 324). Airflow direction and airflow speed datadetermined by the IMU 302 may be associated with one or more time(s)(e.g., time stamped) at which the acceleration data and the rate ofrotation data was sensed, measured and/or detected by the accelerometer322 and the gyroscope 324 of the IMU 302. Example airflow direction data344 and example airflow speed data 346 determined by the IMU 302 may beof any type, form and/or format, and may be stored in acomputer-readable storage medium such as the example memory 318 of FIG.3 described below.

The example GPS receiver 306 of FIG. 3 collects, acquires and/orreceives data and/or one or more signal(s) from one or more GPSsatellite(s) (e.g., represented by the GPS satellites 150 of FIG. 1).Typically, signals from three or more satellites are needed to form theGPS triangulation. The data and/or signal(s) received by the GPSreceiver 306 may include information (e.g., time stamps) from which thecurrent position and/or location of the drone 300 may be identifiedand/or derived, including for example, the current latitude, longitudeand altitude of the drone 300. Location data identified and/or derivedfrom the signal(s) collected and/or received by the GPS receiver 306 maybe associated with one or more local time(s) (e.g., time stamped) atwhich the data and/or signal(s) were collected and/or received by theGPS receiver 306. In some examples, a local clock is used to timestampthe location data, the airflow speed data, and/or the airflow directiondata to maintain synchronization between the same. Example location data348 identified and/or derived from the signal(s) collected and/orreceived by the GPS receiver 306 may be of any type, form and/or format,and may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as theexample memory 318 of FIG. 3 described below.

The example altimeter 308 of FIG. 3 senses, measures and/or detectsatmospheric pressure from which a corresponding altitude of the drone300 can be determined. Thus, the altimeter 308 may be utilized as anadditional and/or alternate means, relative to the GPS receiver 306, foridentifying and/or deriving the current altitude of the drone 300. Thealtimeter 308 is able to sense, measure and/or detect the altitude ofthe drone 300 when cellular and/or wireless network signals areunavailable to the drone 300, and also when signals from GPS satellites(e.g., the GPS satellites 150) are unavailable to the drone 300.Altitude data sensed, measured and/or detected by the altimeter 308 maybe associated with one or more time(s) (e.g., time stamped) at which thedata was sensed, measured and/or detected by the altimeter 308. In someexamples, one or more of the time(s) associated with the altitude datamay be synchronized with one or more of the time(s) associated with thelocation data, one or more time(s) associated with the airflow speeddata, and/or one or more of the time(s) associated with the airflowdirection data. Altitude data sensed, measured and/or detected by thealtimeter 308 may be of any type, form and/or format, and may be storedin a computer-readable storage medium such as the example memory 318 ofFIG. 3 described below. In some examples, the altitude data may beincluded among the example location data 348 stored in the examplememory 318.

The example radio transmitter 310 of FIG. 3 transmits data and/or one ormore radio frequency signal(s) to other devices (e.g., the server 152 ofFIG. 1, the drone 102 of FIG. 1, etc.). In some examples, the dataand/or signal(s) transmitted by the radio transmitter 310 is/arecommunicated over a network (e.g., a cellular network and/or a wirelesslocal area network) via the example cellular base station 154 and/or viathe example wireless access point 156 of FIG. 1. In some examples, theradio transmitter 310 may transmit example airborne drone-generated winddata 342 including the example airflow direction data 344, the exampleairflow speed data 346, and/or the example location data 348 describedabove. In some examples, the radio transmitter 310 may transmit theairborne drone-generated wind data 342 in response to one or morerequest(s) for the airborne drone-generated wind data 342 received atthe drone 300 from another device (e.g., a request from the server 152of FIG. 1, a request from the drone 102 of FIG. 1, etc.). In someexamples, the example radio transmitter 310 may transmit one or morerequest(s) to a server (e.g., the server 152 of FIGS. 1 and/or 4) forwind data (e.g., the wind data 420 of FIG. 4). In some examples, theexample radio transmitter 310 may transmit one or more request(s) to aserver (e.g., the server 152 of FIGS. 1 and/or 4) for a route (e.g., thesecond route 166 of FIG. 1) to be generated based on wind data (e.g.,the wind data 420 of FIG. 4). Data corresponding to the signal(s) to betransmitted by the radio transmitter 310 may be of any type, form and/orformat, and may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium such asthe example memory 318 of FIG. 3 described below.

The example radio receiver 312 of FIG. 3 collects, acquires and/orreceives data and/or one or more radio frequency signal(s) from otherdevices (e.g., the server 152 of FIG. 1, the drone 102 of FIG. 1, etc.).In some examples, the data and/or signal(s) received by the radioreceiver 312 is/are communicated over a network (e.g., a cellularnetwork and/or a wireless local area network) via the example cellularbase station 154 and/or via the example wireless access point 156 ofFIG. 1. In some examples, the radio receiver 312 may receive data and/orsignal(s) corresponding to one or more request(s) for the airbornedrone-generated wind data 342. The one or more request(s) for theairborne drone-generated wind data 342 may be transmitted from anotherdevice (e.g., a request from the server 152 of FIG. 1, a request fromthe drone 102 of FIG. 1, etc.). In some examples, the radio receiver 312may receive data and/or signal(s) corresponding to wind data includingturbine-generated wind data and/or airborne drone-generated wind data(e.g., the wind data 420 including the aggregated turbine-generated winddata 422 and the aggregated airborne drone-generated wind data 424 ofFIG. 4). In some examples, the wind data may be received from a server(e.g., the server 152 of FIGS. 1 and/or 4). In other examples, the winddata may be received from one or more turbine(s) (e.g., one or more ofthe first, second, third and/or fourth turbine(s) 126, 132, 138, 144 ofFIG. 1) and/or from one or more airborne drone(s) (e.g., one or more ofthe first, second, third and/or fourth airborne drone(s) 158, 160, 162,164 of FIG. 1). In some examples, the radio receiver 312 may receivedata and/or signal(s) corresponding to a route for a flight of thedrone, the route being based on wind data including turbine-generatedwind data and/or airborne drone-generated wind data (e.g., the wind data420 including the aggregated turbine-generated wind data 422 and theaggregated airborne drone-generated wind data 424 of FIG. 4). Datacarried by, identified and/or derived from the signal(s) collectedand/or received by the radio receiver 312 may be of any type, formand/or format, and may be stored in a computer-readable storage mediumsuch as the example memory 318 of FIG. 3 described below.

The example user interface 314 of FIG. 3 facilitates interactions and/orcommunications between an end user and the drone 300. The user interface314 includes one or more input device(s) 326 via which the user mayinput information and/or data to the drone 300. For example, the userinterface 314 may be a button, a switch, a microphone, and/or atouchscreen that enable(s) the user to convey data and/or commands tothe example controller 316 of FIG. 3 described below, and/or, moregenerally, to the drone 300 of FIG. 3. The user interface 314 of FIG. 3also includes one or more output device(s) 328 via which the userinterface 314 presents information and/or data in visual and/or audibleform to the user. For example, the user interface 314 may include alight emitting diode, a touchscreen, and/or a liquid crystal display forpresenting visual information, and/or a speaker for presenting audibleinformation. Data and/or information that is presented and/or receivedvia the user interface 314 may be of any type, form and/or format, andmay be stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as the examplememory 318 of FIG. 3 described below.

The example controller 316 of FIG. 3 may be implemented by asemiconductor device such as a microprocessor or microcontroller. Thecontroller 316 manages and/or controls the operation of the drone 300.The example controller 316 of FIG. 3 includes an example data aggregator330, an example wind data generator 332, an example route manager 334,an example launch manager 336, an example power manager 338, and anexample shape manager 340. In some examples, the controller 316 managesand/or controls the operation of the drone 300 based on data,information and/or one or more signal(s) obtained and/or accessed by thecontroller 316 from one or more of the IMU 302, the GPS receiver 306,the altimeter 308, the radio receiver 312, the user interface 314, thememory 318, the data aggregator 330, the wind data generator 332, theroute manager 334, the launch manager 336, the power manager 338 and/orthe shape manager 340 of FIG. 3, and/or based on data, informationand/or one or more signal(s) provided by the controller 316 to one ormore of the radio transmitter 310, the user interface 314, the dataaggregator 330, the wind data generator 332, the route manager 334, thelaunch manager 336, the power manager 338 and/or the shape manager 340of FIG. 3.

In some examples, the data aggregator 330 of FIG. 3 determines adirection of an airflow (e.g., the direction of the first airflow 128 ofFIG. 1). For example, the data aggregator 330 may collect, access,obtain, process, determine, and/or otherwise identify the airflowdirection data 344 sensed, measured, detected and/or determined by theIMU 302. The airflow direction data 344 collected, accessed, obtained,processed, determined, and/or otherwise identified by the dataaggregator 330 may include timing information (e.g., time stamps)corresponding to times at which the airflow direction data 344 wassensed, measured and/or detected by the accelerometer 322 and thegyroscope 324 of the IMU 302. The data aggregator 330 may collect,access, obtain, process, determine, and/or otherwise identify suchairflow direction data 344 from the IMU 302 and/or from the examplememory 318 of FIG. 3 described below.

In some examples, the data aggregator 330 of FIG. 3 determines a speedof an airflow (e.g., the speed of the first airflow 128 of FIG. 1). Forexample, the data aggregator 330 may collect, access, obtain, process,determine, and/or otherwise identify the airflow speed data 346 sensed,measured, detected and/or determined by the IMU 302. The airflow speeddata 346 collected, accessed, obtained, processed, determined, and/orotherwise identified by the data aggregator 330 may include timinginformation (e.g., time stamps) corresponding to times at which theairflow speed data 346 was sensed, measured and/or detected by theaccelerometer 322 and the gyroscope 324 of the IMU 302. The dataaggregator 330 may collect, access, obtain, process, determine, and/orotherwise identify such airflow speed data 346 from the IMU 302 and/orfrom the example memory 318 of FIG. 3 described below.

In some examples, the data aggregator 330 of FIG. 3 determines alocation of the drone 300. For example, the data aggregator 330 maycollect, access, obtain, process, determine, and/or otherwise identifythe location data 348 identified and/or derived from the signal(s)collected and/or received by the GPS receiver 306. The data aggregator330 may additionally and/or alternatively collect, access, obtain and/orotherwise identify the altitude data sensed, measured and/or detected bythe altimeter 308. The location data 348 collected, accessed, obtained,processed, determined, and/or otherwise identified by the dataaggregator 330 may include timing information (e.g., time stamps)corresponding to times at which the location data 348 was collected,received and/or detected by the GPS receiver 306 and/or the altimeter308. The data aggregator 330 may collect, access, obtain, process,determine, and/or otherwise identify the location data 348 from the GPSreceiver 306, from the altimeter 308, and/or from the example memory 318of FIG. 3 described below.

In some examples, the wind data generator 332 of FIG. 3 generates theexample airborne drone-generated wind data 342. In some examples, theairborne drone-generated wind data 342 includes the airflow directiondata 344, the airflow speed data 346 and/or the location data 348described above. In some examples, the wind data generator 332synchronizes and/or otherwise organizes the airborne drone-generatedwind data 342 based on the timing information associated with each ofthe airflow direction data 344, the airflow speed data 346, and thelocation data 348. For example, first data and/or a first data point ofthe airborne drone-generated wind data 342 may include an airflowdirection at a first time, an airflow speed at the first time, and alocation of the drone 300 at the first time. Second data and/or a seconddata point of the airborne drone-generated wind data 342 may include anairflow direction at a second time, an airflow speed at the second time,and a location of the drone 300 at the second time. Airbornedrone-generated wind data 342 generated and/or determined by the winddata generator 332 may be of any type, form and/or format, and may bestored in a computer-readable storage medium such as the example memory318 of FIG. 3 described below.

In some examples, the controller 316 of FIG. 3 determines whether arequest has been received at the drone 300 for the airbornedrone-generated wind data 342. For example, the controller 316 mayreceive one or more signal(s), command(s) and or instruction(s) via theradio receiver 312 of FIG. 3. If the controller 316 determines that arequest for the airborne drone-generated wind data 342 has beenreceived, the controller 316 provides one or more control signal(s)and/or instruction(s) to the radio transmitter 310 of FIG. 3 instructingthe radio transmitter 310 to transmit the airborne drone-generated winddata 342. In response to such signal(s) and/or instruction(s), the radiotransmitter 310 may transmit the airborne drone-generated wind data 342.

In some examples, the controller 316 of FIG. 3 determines whether theairborne drone-generated wind data 342 of the drone 300 is to betransmitted. For example, the controller 316 may receive one or moresignal(s), command(s) and or instruction(s) indicating that the airbornedrone-generated wind data 342 is to be transmitted to another device(e.g., the server 152 of FIG. 1, the drone 102 of FIG. 1, etc.). In someexamples, the timing of the transmission of the airborne drone-generatedwind data 342 may be predetermined, scheduled, and/or otherwise definedby an application and/or program executing on the drone 300. In someexamples, the timing of the transmission of the airborne drone-generatedwind data 342 may be triggered by an event. In some examples, one ormore user input(s) received via the input device(s) 326 of the userinterface 314 of FIG. 3 may indicate that the airborne drone-generatedwind data 342 is to be transmitted. If the controller 316 determinesthat the airborne drone-generated wind data 342 of the drone 300 is tobe transmitted, the controller 316 provides one or more controlsignal(s) and/or instruction(s) to the radio transmitter 310 of FIG. 3instructing the radio transmitter 310 to transmit the airbornedrone-generated wind data 342. In response to such signal(s) and/orinstruction(s), the radio transmitter 310 may transmit the airbornedrone-generated wind data 342.

In some examples, the controller 316 of FIG. 3 determines whetherairborne drone-generated wind data 342 for the drone 300 is to continuebeing collected and/or generated. For example, the controller 316 mayreceive one or more signal(s), command(s) and or instruction(s)indicating that airborne drone-generated wind data 342 for the drone 300is not to continue being collected and/or generated. In some examples,the timing and/or duration of the collection and/or generation of theairborne drone-generated wind data 342 may be predetermined, scheduled,and/or otherwise defined by an application and/or program executing onthe drone 300. In some examples, the timing and/or duration of thecollection and/or generation of the airborne drone-generated wind data342 may be triggered by an event. In some examples, one or more userinput(s) received via the input device(s) 326 of the user interface 314of FIG. 3 may indicate that airborne drone-generated wind data 342 forthe drone 300 is not to continue being collected and/or generated. Ifthe controller 316 determines that airborne drone-generated wind data342 for the drone 300 is not to continue being collected and/orgenerated, the controller 316 may provide one or more control signal(s)and/or instruction(s) to one or more of the IMU 302, the GPS receiver306, the altimeter 308 and/or the user interface 314 of FIG. 3indicating that airborne drone-generated wind data 342 for the drone 300is not to continue being collected and/or generated. In response to suchsignal(s) and/or instruction(s), one or more of the IMU 302, the GPSreceiver 306, the altimeter 308 and/or the user interface 314 of FIG. 3may cease sensing, measuring, collecting and/or detecting dataassociated with airborne drone-generated wind data 342 for the drone300.

The example route manager 334 of FIG. 3 generates, manages and/orcontrols a route of the drone 300 based on data, information and/or oneor more signal(s) obtained and/or accessed by the route manager 334 fromone or more of the IMU 302, the GPS receiver 306, the altimeter 308, theradio receiver 312, the user interface 314, the controller 316, thememory 318, the launch manager 336, the power manager 338 and/or theshape manager 340 of FIG. 3, and/or based on data, information and/orone or more signal(s) provided by the route manager 334 to one or moreof the radio transmitter 310, the user interface 314, the controller316, the launch manager 336, the power manager 338 and/or the shapemanager 340 of FIG. 3. In some examples, one or more of the functionsand/or operations of the route manager 334 of FIG. 3 described hereinmay alternatively be performed by the route manager 419 of the server152 of FIGS. 1 and 4.

In some examples, the route manager 334 of FIG. 3 generates a route tobe followed during a flight of the drone 300 based on the wind datareceived by the drone 300 (e.g., the wind data 420 including theaggregated turbine-generated wind data 422 and/or the aggregatedairborne drone-generated wind data 424 of FIG. 4). For example, theroute manager 334 of the drone 300 may generate the second route 166 ofFIG. 1 to be followed by the drone 300 during the flight of the drone300 through and/or over the area 104 from the launch location 106 to thedestination location 108 of FIG. 1. In some examples, the routegenerated by the route manager 334 passes through a tailwind area withinwhich the drone is to engage a tailwind during the flight. Datacorresponding to and/or indicative of the tailwind and/or the tailwindarea may be included within the wind data received by the drone 300. Insome examples, the route generated by the route manager 334 passesthrough an updraft area within which the drone is to engage an updraftduring the flight. Data corresponding to and/or indicative of theupdraft and/or the updraft area may be included within the wind datareceived by the drone 300.

In some examples, the route manager 334 of FIG. 3 generates a route tobe followed during a flight of the drone 300 to reduce energy consumedby the drone 300 during the flight. For example, as described above inconnection with FIG. 1, while the first route 124 of FIG. 1 is theshortest and/or most direct (e.g., by distance) route via which thedrone 102 may navigate from the launch location 106 to the destinationlocation 108, the second route 166 is a more energy efficient (e.g., byenergy consumption of the drone 102) route via which the drone 102 maynavigate from the launch location 106 to the destination location 108.In this regard, while the drone 102 would encounter a headwind (e.g.,the first airflow 128) when traveling along the first route 124, thedrone 102 is able to avoid the headwind while also encountering thetailwinds (e.g., the second airflow 134 and the third airflow 140) andthe updraft (e.g., the fourth airflow 146) when traveling along thesecond route 166. As a result of the tailwinds and updraft encounteredby the drone 102 when traveling along the second route 166, the powersource 320 of FIG. 3 expends and/or consumes less energy when the drone102 travels between the launch location 106 and the destination location108 relative to the energy that would be expended and/or consumed by thepower source 320 of FIG. 3 when the drone 102 travels between the launchlocation 106 and the destination location 108 along the first route 124.

In some examples, the route manager 334 of FIG. 3 causes the drone 300to follow the route generated by the route manager 334 during a flightof the drone 300. For example, the route manager 334 may provide one ormore signal(s), command(s) and/or instruction(s) to one or more motor(s)of the drone 300 to cause the drone 300 to track, follow and/orotherwise move along the route generated by the route manager 334 duringa flight of the drone 300.

In some examples, the route manager 334 of FIG. 3 determines whether toupdate the route being followed by the drone 300. For example, the routemanager 334 may receive one or more signal(s), command(s) and orinstruction(s) indicating that the route is to be updated (e.g., updatedbased on more current wind data). In some examples, the timing of anupdate request and/or instruction may be predetermined, scheduled,and/or otherwise defined by an application and/or program executing onthe drone 300. In some examples, the timing of the update request and/orinstruction may be triggered by an event. In some examples, one or moreuser input(s) received via the input device(s) 326 of the user interface314 of FIG. 3 may indicate that the route being followed by the drone300 is to be updated. If the route manager 334 determines that the routeis to be updated, the route manager 334 provides one or more controlsignal(s) and/or instruction(s) to the radio transmitter 310 of FIG. 3instructing the radio transmitter 310 to transmit one or more request(s)for wind data (e.g., a request for more current wind data).

In some examples, the route manager 334 of FIG. 3 determines whether theroute being followed by the drone 300 has been completed. For example,based on location data obtained and/or accessed from the GPS receiver306 of FIG. 3, the route manager 334 may determine whether a currentposition and/or location of the drone 300 coincides with (e.g., matches)a destination location of a route being followed by the drone 300 duringa flight of the drone 300. The route being followed by the drone 300 hasbeen completed when the current location of the drone 300 coincides withthe destination location of the route. If the route manager 334determines that the route has not been completed (e.g., that thedestination location of the route has not been reached), the routemanager 334 continues providing signal(s), command(s) and/orinstruction(s) to one or more motor(s) of the drone 300 to cause thedrone 300 to track, follow and/or otherwise move along the route.

The example launch manager 336 of FIG. 3 manages and/or controls alaunch of the drone 300 via an example launch booster 350 of FIG. 3based on data, information and/or one or more signal(s) obtained and/oraccessed by the launch manager 336 from one or more of the IMU 302, theGPS receiver 306, the altimeter 308, the radio receiver 312, the userinterface 314, the controller 316, the memory 318, the route manager334, the power manager 338, the shape manager 340 and/or the launchbooster 350 of FIG. 3, and/or based on data, information and/or one ormore signal(s) provided by the launch manager 336 to one or more of theradio transmitter 310, the user interface 314, the controller 316, theroute manager 334, the power manager 338, the shape manager 340 and/orthe launch booster 350 of FIG. 3.

In some examples, launching the drone 300 via the launch booster 350reduces the energy consumed by the drone 300 during the launch. In someexamples, the drone 300 is in contact with and/or releasably coupled tothe launch booster 350 prior to being launched. In some examples, thedrone 300 separates and/or releases from the launch booster 350 duringthe launch. In some examples, the drone separates and/or releases fromthe launch booster 350 in response to the launch manager 336 detecting aspecified altitude and/or time in relation to the launch of the drone300. In some examples, the launch booster 350 is to increase at leastone of a height of the drone 300 or a speed of the drone 300 during thelaunch. In some examples, the launch booster 350 is a catapult. In otherexamples, the launch booster 350 is a slingshot. In other examples, thelaunch booster 350 is a balloon. In other examples, the launch booster350 is a vacuum chamber. In other examples, the launch booster 350 is asmall form factor rocket or explosive device.

In some examples, the launch manager 336 of FIG. 3 provides one or moresignal(s), command(s) and/or instruction(s) to a trigger and/or releasemechanism of the launch booster 350 of FIG. 3 to initiate the launch viathe launch booster 350. In some examples, the timing of the transmissionof such signal(s), command(s) and/or instruction(s) may be predeterminedand/or otherwise defined by an application and/or program executing onthe drone 300. In other examples, the timing of the transmission of suchsignal(s), command(s) and/or instruction(s) may be associated with oneor more user input(s) received via the input device(s) 326 of the userinterface 314 of FIG. 3. In response to the signal(s), command(s) and/orinstruction(s) provided by the launch manager 336, the launch booster350 may launch the drone 300.

In some examples, the launch manager 336 of FIG. 3 determines whether anapex of a launch via the launch booster 350 of FIG. 3 has been reached.For example, the launch manager 336 may determine that an apex of alaunch via the launch booster 350 has been reached based on altitudedata sensed, measured and/or detected by the altimeter 308 of FIG. 3. Insome examples, the apex of the launch coincides with an altitudespecified by the launch manager 336.

In some examples, the launch manager 336 of FIG. 3 provides one or moresignal(s), command(s) and/or instruction(s) to the power manager 338 inresponse to determining that the apex of the launch has been reached. Insome examples, such signal(s), command(s) and/or instruction(s) maycause the power manager 338 to initiate and/or supply power from thepower source 320 of FIG. 3 to one or more motor(s) of the drone 300.

In some examples, the launch manager 336 of FIG. 3 provides one or moresignal(s), command(s) and/or instruction(s) to the shape manager 340 inresponse to determining that the apex of the launch has been reached. Insome examples, such signal(s), command(s) and/or instruction(s) maycause the shape manager 340 to change the shape of the drone 300 from aprojectile form factor to a self-propelled type form factor.

The example power manager 338 of FIG. 3 manages and/or controls thesupply of power from the power source 320 of FIG. 3 to one or moremotor(s) of the drone 300 of FIG. 3 based on data, information and/orone or more signal(s) obtained and/or accessed by the power manager 338from one or more of the IMU 302, the GPS receiver 306, the altimeter308, the radio receiver 312, the user interface 314, the controller 316,the memory 318, the route manager 334, the launch manager 336 and/or theshape manager 340 of FIG. 3, and/or based on data, information and/orone or more signal(s) provided by the power manager 338 to one or moreof the radio transmitter 310, the user interface 314, the controller316, the route manager 334, the launch manager 336, the shape manager340 and/or one or more motor(s) of the drone 300 of FIG. 3.

In some examples, the power manager 338 of FIG. 3 determines whether toprovide and/or supply power from the power source 320 of FIG. 3 to oneor more motor(s) of the drone 300 in response to the launch manager 336of FIG. 3 determining that an apex of the launch has been reached. Forexample, the power manager 338 may receive one or more signal(s),command(s) and or instruction(s) indicating that power is to be suppliedfrom the power source 320 to one or more motor(s) of the drone 300 inresponse to the launch manager 336 determining that an apex of thelaunch has been reached.

In some examples, the power manager 338 provides and/or supplies powerfrom the power source 320 of FIG. 3 to one or more motor(s) of the drone300. For example, the power manager 338 may provide one or moresignal(s), command(s) and/or instruction(s) to the power source 320 ofFIG. 3 and/or to one or more motor(s) of the drone 300 to cause thepower source 320 to provide and/or supply power to the one or moremotor(s) of the drone 300. The power manager 338 may simply close aswitch to create a closed circuit between the power supply 320 and themotor, and/or a regulator that controls the speed of the motor.

The example shape manager 340 of FIG. 3 manages and/or controls theshape of the drone 300 of FIG. 3 based on data, information and/or oneor more signal(s) obtained and/or accessed by the shape manager 340 fromone or more of the IMU 302, the GPS receiver 306, the altimeter 308, theradio receiver 312, the user interface 314, the controller 316, thememory 318, the route manager 334, the launch manager 336, the powermanager 338 and/or the launch booster 350 of FIG. 3, and/or based ondata, information and/or one or more signal(s) provided by the shapemanager 340 to one or more of the radio transmitter 310, the userinterface 314, the controller 316, the route manager 334, the launchmanager 336, the power manager 338 and/or one or more shape adjustablecomponent(s) of the drone 300 of FIG. 3.

In some examples, the shape manager 340 of FIG. 3 determines whether tochange a shape of one or more shape adjustable component(s) (e.g., anextendable and/or transformable arm) of the drone 300 in response to thelaunch manager 336 of FIG. 3 determining that an apex of the launch hasbeen reached. For example, the shape manager 340 may receive one or moresignal(s), command(s) and or instruction(s) indicating that a shape ofone or more shape adjustable component(s) of the drone 300 is/are to bechanged.

In some examples, the shape manager 340 changes the shape of one or moreshape adjustable component(s) of the drone 300. For example, the shapemanager 340 may provide one or more signal(s), command(s) and/orinstruction(s) to one or more shape adjustable component(s) of the drone300 to cause the shape adjustable component(s) to change shape, extend,retract, and/or move. This may be effected by, for example, actuatingone or more motor(s) to move one or more component(s) of the drone 300.

The example memory 318 of FIG. 3 may be implemented by any type(s)and/or any number(s) of storage device(s) such as a storage drive, aflash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), a random-access memory (RAM), acache and/or any other physical storage medium in which information isstored for any duration (e.g., for extended time periods, permanently,brief instances, for temporarily buffering, and/or for caching of theinformation). The information stored in the memory 318 may be stored inany file and/or data structure format, organization scheme, and/orarrangement.

In some examples, the memory 318 of FIG. 3 stores airflow direction data344 sensed, measured and/or detected by the IMU 302. In some examples,the memory 318 stores airflow speed data 346 sensed, measured and/ordetected by the IMU 302. In some examples, the memory 318 storeslocation data 348 collected, received, identified and/or derived by theGPS receiver 306. In some examples, the memory 318 stores altitude datasensed, measured and/or detected by the altimeter 308. In some examples,the memory 318 stores airborne drone-generated wind data 342 generatedby the wind data generator 332 and/or to be transmitted by the radiotransmitter 310 of FIG. 3. In some examples, the memory 318 stores winddata 420 accessed, obtained and/or received from the server 152 of FIG.4. In some examples, the wind data 420 includes the aggregatedturbine-generated wind data 422 of FIG. 4. In some examples, the winddata 420 includes the aggregated airborne drone-generated wind data 424of FIG. 4. In some examples, the memory 318 stores a route (e.g., thesecond route 166) generated by the route manager 334 of FIG. 3. Thememory 318 is accessible to one or more of the example IMU 302, theexample GPS receiver 306, the example altimeter 308, the example radiotransmitter 310, the example radio receiver 312, the example userinterface 314, the example controller 316, the example data aggregator330, the example wind data generator 332, the example route manager 334,the example launch manager 336, the example power manager 338 and/or theexample shape manager 340 of FIG. 3, and/or, more generally, to thedrone 300 of FIG. 3.

The example power source 320 of FIG. 3 stores energy. In some examples,the power source 320 provides and/or supplies power to the IMU 302, theGPS receiver 306, the altimeter 308, the radio transmitter 310, theradio receiver 312, the user interface 314, the controller 316, thememory 318, the data aggregator 330, the wind data generator 332, theroute manager 334, the launch manager 336, the power manager 338 and/orthe shape manager 340, and/or, more generally, the drone 300 of FIG. 3.In some examples, the power source 320 may additionally and/oralternatively provide and/or supply power to one or more motor(s) of thedrone 300 coupled to one or more propeller(s) and/or rotor(s) of thedrone 300. In some examples, power provided by the power source 320 tothe motor(s), propeller(s) and/or rotor(s) of the drone 300 enablesflight of the drone 300. In some examples, the power source 320 may be abattery. As power is provided by the power source 320, the energy storedby the power source 320 is consumed.

While an example manner of implementing a drone is illustrated in FIG.3, one or more of the elements, processes and/or devices illustrated inFIG. 3 may be combined, divided, re-arranged, omitted, eliminated and/orimplemented in any other way. Further, the example IMU 302, the exampleGPS receiver 306, the example altimeter 308, the example radiotransmitter 310, the example radio receiver 312, the example userinterface 314, the example controller 316, the example memory 318, theexample power source 320, the example data aggregator 330, the examplewind data generator 332, the example route manager 334, the examplelaunch manager 336, the example power manager 338 and/or the exampleshape manager 340 of FIG. 3 may be implemented by hardware, software,firmware and/or any combination of hardware, software and/or firmware.Thus, for example, any of the example IMU 302, the example GPS receiver306, the example altimeter 308, the example radio transmitter 310, theexample radio receiver 312, the example user interface 314, the examplecontroller 316, the example memory 318, the example power source 320,the example data aggregator 330, the example wind data generator 332,the example route manager 334, the example launch manager 336, theexample power manager 338 and/or the example shape manager 340 of FIG. 3could be implemented by one or more analog or digital circuit(s), logiccircuits, programmable processor(s), application specific integratedcircuit(s) (ASIC(s)), programmable logic device(s) (PLD(s)) and/or fieldprogrammable logic device(s) (FPLD(s)). When reading any of theapparatus or system claims of this patent to cover a purely softwareand/or firmware implementation, at least one of the example IMU 302, theexample GPS receiver 306, the example altimeter 308, the example radiotransmitter 310, the example radio receiver 312, the example userinterface 314, the example controller 316, the example memory 318, theexample power source 320, the example data aggregator 330, the examplewind data generator 332, the example route manager 334, the examplelaunch manager 336, the example power manager 338 and/or the exampleshape manager 340 is/are hereby expressly defined to include a tangiblecomputer-readable storage device or storage disk such as a memory, adigital versatile disk (DVD), a compact disk (CD), a Blu-ray disk, etc.storing the software and/or firmware. Further still, the example drone300 of FIG. 3 may include one or more elements, processes and/or devicesin addition to, or instead of, those illustrated in FIG. 3, and/or mayinclude more than one of any or all of the illustrated elements,processes and devices.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example implementation of the server 152of FIG. 1. In the illustrated example of FIG. 4, the server 152 includesan example radio transmitter 402, an example radio receiver 404, anexample user interface 406, an example processor 408, and an examplememory 410. However, other example implementations of the server 152 mayinclude fewer or additional structures.

The example radio transmitter 402 of FIG. 4 transmits data and/or one ormore radio frequency signal(s) to other devices (e.g., the drone 102 ofFIG. 1, the first, second, third and/or fourth turbines 126, 132, 138,144 of FIG. 1, the first, second, third and/or fourth airborne drones158, 160, 162, 164 of FIG. 1, etc.). In some examples, the data and/orsignal(s) transmitted by the radio transmitter 402 is/are communicatedover a network (e.g., a cellular network and/or a wireless local areanetwork) via the example cellular base station 154 and/or via theexample wireless access point 156 of FIG. 1. In some examples, the radiotransmitter 402 may transmit example wind data 420 including the exampleaggregated turbine-generated wind data 422 and/or the example aggregatedairborne drone-generated wind data 424 described below. In someexamples, the radio transmitter 402 may transmit the wind data 420 inresponse to one or more request(s) for the wind data received at theserver 152 from another device (e.g., a request from the drone 102 ofFIG. 1, etc.). In some examples, the radio transmitter 402 may transmita route (e.g., the second route 166 of FIG. 1) for a flight of a drone,the route being generated based on the example wind data 420 includingthe example aggregated turbine-generated wind data 422 and/or theexample aggregated airborne drone-generated wind data 424 describedbelow. In some examples, the radio transmitter 402 may transmit theroute in response to one or more request(s) for the route received atthe server 152 from another device (e.g., a request from the drone 102of FIG. 1, etc.). Data corresponding to the signal(s) to be transmittedby the radio transmitter 402 may be of any type, form and/or format, andmay be stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as the examplememory 410 of FIG. 4 described below.

The example radio receiver 404 of FIG. 4 collects, acquires and/orreceives data and/or one or more radio frequency signal(s) from otherdevices (e.g., the drone 102 of FIG. 1, the first, second, third and/orfourth turbines 126, 132, 138, 144 of FIG. 1, the first, second, thirdand/or fourth airborne drones 158, 160, 162, 164 of FIG. 1, etc.). Insome examples, the data and/or signal(s) received by the radio receiver404 is/are communicated over a network (e.g., a cellular network and/ora wireless local area network) via the example cellular base station 154and/or via the example wireless access point 156 of FIG. 1. In someexamples, the radio receiver 404 may receive data and/or signal(s)corresponding to turbine-generated wind data (e.g., theturbine-generated wind data 228 of FIG. 2) from one or more of thefirst, second, third and/or fourth turbines 126, 132, 138, 144 ofFIG. 1. In some examples, the radio receiver 404 may receive data and/orsignal(s) corresponding to airborne drone-generated wind data (e.g., theairborne drone-generated wind data 342 of FIG. 3) from one or more ofthe first, second, third and/or fourth airborne drones 158, 160, 162,164 of FIG. 1. In some examples, the radio receiver 404 may receive dataand/or signal(s) corresponding to one or more request(s) for the winddata 420. The one or more request(s) for the wind data 420 may betransmitted from another device (e.g., a request from the drone 102 ofFIG. 1, etc.). In some examples, the radio receiver 404 may receive dataand/or signal(s) corresponding to one or more request(s) for a route ofa flight of a drone, the route to be based on the wind data 420. The oneor more request(s) for the route may be transmitted from another device(e.g., a request from the drone 102 of FIG. 1, etc.). Data carried by,identified and/or derived from the signal(s) collected and/or receivedby the radio receiver 404 may be of any type, form and/or format, andmay be stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as the examplememory 410 of FIG. 4 described below.

The example user interface 406 of FIG. 4 facilitates interactions and/orcommunications between an end user and the server 152. The userinterface 406 includes one or more input device(s) 412 via which theuser may input information and/or data to the server 152. For example,the user interface 406 may be a button, a switch, a microphone, and/or atouchscreen that enable(s) the user to convey data and/or commands tothe example processor 408 of FIG. 4 described below, and/or, moregenerally, to the server 152 of FIGS. 1 and/or 4. The user interface 406of FIG. 4 also includes one or more output device(s) 414 via which theuser interface 406 presents information and/or data in visual and/oraudible form to the user. For example, the user interface 406 mayinclude a light emitting diode, a touchscreen, and/or a liquid crystaldisplay for presenting visual information, and/or a speaker forpresenting audible information. Data and/or information that ispresented and/or received via the user interface 406 may be of any type,form and/or format, and may be stored in a computer-readable storagemedium such as the example memory 410 of FIG. 4 described below.

The example processor 408 of FIG. 4 may be implemented by asemiconductor device such as a microprocessor, controller ormicrocontroller. The processor 408 manages and/or controls the operationof the server 152. The example processor 408 of FIG. 4 includes anexample data aggregator 416, an example wind data generator 418 and anexample route manager 419. In some examples, the processor 408 managesand/or controls the operation of the server 152 based on data,information and/or one or more signal(s) obtained and/or accessed by theprocessor 408 from one or more of the radio receiver 404, the userinterface 406, the memory 410, the data aggregator 416, the wind datagenerator 418 and/or the route manager 419 of FIG. 4, and/or based ondata, information and/or one or more signal(s) provided by the processor408 to one or more of the radio transmitter 402, the user interface 406,the data aggregator 416, the wind data generator 418 and/or the routemanager 419 of FIG. 4.

In some examples, the data aggregator 416 of FIG. 4 determines whetherturbine-generated wind data has been received at the server 152. Forexample, the data aggregator 416 may receive one or more signal(s),command(s) and or instruction(s) via the radio receiver 404 of FIG. 4indicating that the turbine-generated wind data 228 has been receivedfrom the turbine 200 of FIG. 2 (e.g., from one or more of the first,second, third and/or fourth turbines 126, 132, 138, 144 of FIG. 1). Ifthe data aggregator 416 determines that turbine-generated wind data hasbeen received from one or more turbine(s), the data aggregator 416generates example aggregated turbine-generated wind data 422 bycombining and/or aggregating the turbine-generated wind data receivedfrom various ones of the first, second, third and/or fourth turbine(s)126, 132, 138, 144. In some examples, the aggregated turbine-generatedwind data 422 may include example aggregated airflow direction data 426,example aggregated airflow speed data 428 and/or example aggregatedlocation data 430.

In some examples, the data aggregator 416 of FIG. 4 determines whetherairborne drone-generated wind data has been received at the server 152.For example, the data aggregator 416 may receive one or more signal(s),command(s) and or instruction(s) via the radio receiver 404 of FIG. 4indicating that the airborne drone-generated wind data 342 has beenreceived from the drone 300 of FIG. 3 (e.g., from one or more of thefirst, second, third and/or fourth airborne drones 158, 160, 162, 164 ofFIG. 1). If the data aggregator 416 determines that airbornedrone-generated wind data has been received from one or more airbornedrone(s), the data aggregator 416 generates example aggregated airbornedrone-generated wind data 424 by combining and/or aggregating theairborne drone-generated wind data received from various ones of thefirst, second, third and/or fourth airborne drone(s) 158, 160, 162, 164.In some examples, the aggregated airborne drone-generated wind data 424may include example aggregated airflow direction data 432, exampleaggregated airflow speed data 434 and/or example aggregated locationdata 436.

In some examples, the wind data generator 418 of FIG. 4 generatesexample wind data 420 based on the aggregated turbine-generated winddata 422 and/or the aggregated airborne drone-generated wind data 424.In some examples, the wind data generator 418 generates the wind data420 by combining and/or aggregating the aggregated turbine-generatedwind data 422 and the aggregated airborne drone-generated wind data 424.In such examples, the wind data 420 may include the aggregatedturbine-generated wind data 422 including the aggregated airflowdirection data 426, the aggregated airflow speed data 428, and theaggregated location data 430 associated therewith, and may furtherinclude the aggregated airborne drone-generated wind data 424 includingthe aggregated airflow direction data 432, the aggregated airflow speeddata 434, and the aggregated location data 436 associated therewith.

In some examples, the processor 408 of FIG. 4 determines whether arequest has been received at the server 152 for the wind data 420. Forexample, the processor 408 may receive one or more signal(s), command(s)and or instruction(s) via the radio receiver 404 of FIG. 4. If theprocessor 408 determines that a request for the wind data 420 has beenreceived, the processor 408 provides one or more control signal(s)and/or instruction(s) to the radio transmitter 402 of FIG. 4 instructingthe radio transmitter 402 to transmit the wind data 420. In response tosuch signal(s) and/or instruction(s), the radio transmitter 402 maytransmit the wind data 420.

In some examples, the processor 408 of FIG. 4 determines whether thewind data 420 generated at the server 152 is to be transmitted. Forexample, the processor 408 may receive one or more signal(s), command(s)and or instruction(s) indicating that the wind data 420 is to betransmitted to another device (e.g., the drone 102 of FIG. 1, etc.). Insome examples, the timing of the transmission of the wind data 420 maybe predetermined, scheduled, and/or otherwise defined by an applicationand/or program executing on the server 152. In some examples, the timingof the transmission of the wind data 420 may be triggered by an event.In some examples, one or more user input(s) received via the inputdevice(s) 412 of the user interface 406 of FIG. 4 may indicate that thewind data 420 is to be transmitted. If the processor 408 determines thatthe wind data 420 is to be transmitted, the processor 408 provides oneor more control signal(s) and/or instruction(s) to the radio transmitter402 of FIG. 4 instructing the radio transmitter 402 to transmit the winddata 420. In response to such signal(s) and/or instruction(s), the radiotransmitter 402 may transmit the wind data 420.

In some examples, the processor 408 of FIG. 4 determines whether winddata 420 is to continue being generated. For example, the processor 408may receive one or more signal(s), command(s) and or instruction(s)indicating that wind data 420 is not to continue being generated at theserver 152. In some examples, the timing and/or duration of thegeneration of the wind data 420 may be predetermined, scheduled, and/orotherwise defined by an application and/or program executing on theserver 152. In some examples, the timing and/or duration of thegeneration of the wind data 420 may be triggered by an event. In someexamples, one or more user input(s) received via the input device(s) 412of the user interface 406 of FIG. 4 may indicate that wind data 420 isnot to continue being generated. If the processor 408 determines thatwind data 420 is not to continue being generated, the wind datagenerator 418 may cease generating the wind data 420.

In some examples, the route manager 419 of FIG. 4 generates a route tobe followed during a flight of the drone (e.g., the drone 300 of FIG. 3)based on the wind data generated by the wind data generator 418 of FIG.4 (e.g., the wind data 420 including the aggregated turbine-generatedwind data 422 and/or the aggregated airborne drone-generated wind data424 of FIG. 4). In some examples, the route manager 419 generates theroute based in part on launch location and a destination locationidentified by a request for the route received from a drone (e.g., thedrone 300 of FIG. 3). For example, the route manager 419 may generatethe second route 166 of FIG. 1 to be followed by the drone 300 of FIG. 3during the flight of the drone 300 through and/or over the area 104 fromthe launch location 106 to the destination location 108 of FIG. 1.Information and/or data identifying the launch location 106 and thedestination location 108 of the flight of the drone may be included witha request for generation of the route received at the server 152. Insome examples, the route generated by the route manager 419 passesthrough a tailwind area within which the drone is to engage a tailwindduring the flight. In some examples, the route generated by the routemanager 334 passes through an updraft area within which the drone is toengage an updraft during the flight.

In some examples, the route manager 419 of FIG. 4 generates a route tobe followed during a flight of the drone (e.g., the drone 300 of FIG. 3)to reduce energy consumed by the drone during the flight. For example,as described above in connection with FIG. 1, while the first route 124of FIG. 1 is the shortest and/or most direct (e.g., by distance) routevia which the drone 102 may navigate from the launch location 106 to thedestination location 108, the second route 166 is a more energyefficient (e.g., by energy consumption of the drone 102) route via whichthe drone 102 may navigate from the launch location 106 to thedestination location 108. In this regard, while the drone 102 wouldencounter a headwind (e.g., the first airflow 128) when traveling alongthe first route 124, the drone 102 is able to avoid the headwind whilealso encountering the tailwinds (e.g., the second airflow 134 and thethird airflow 140) and the updraft (e.g., the fourth airflow 146) whentraveling along the second route 166. As a result of the tailwinds andupdraft encountered by the drone 102 when traveling along the secondroute 166, the power source 320 of FIG. 3 expends and/or consumes lessenergy when the drone 102 travels between the launch location 106 andthe destination location 108 relative to the energy that would beexpended and/or consumed by the power source 320 of FIG. 3 when thedrone 102 travels between the launch location 106 and the destinationlocation 108 along the first route 124.

In some examples, the processor 408 of FIG. 4 determines whether arequest has been received at the server 152 for the route. For example,the processor 408 may receive one or more signal(s), command(s) and orinstruction(s) via the radio receiver 404 of FIG. 4. If the processor408 determines that a request for the route has been received, theprocessor 408 provides one or more control signal(s) and/orinstruction(s) to the route manager 419 of FIG. 4 to generate the routeand one or more control signal(s) and/or instruction(s) to the radiotransmitter 402 of FIG. 4 instructing the radio transmitter 402 totransmit the generated route. In response to such signal(s) and/orinstruction(s), route manager 419 may generate the route, and the radiotransmitter 402 may transmit the generated route.

In some examples, the processor 408 of FIG. 4 determines whether theroute generated at the server 152 is to be transmitted. For example, theprocessor 408 may receive one or more signal(s), command(s) and orinstruction(s) indicating that the route is to be transmitted to anotherdevice (e.g., the drone 102 of FIG. 1, etc.). In some examples, thetiming of the transmission of the route may be predetermined, scheduled,and/or otherwise defined by an application and/or program executing onthe server 152. In some examples, the timing of the transmission of theroute may be triggered by an event. In some examples, one or more userinput(s) received via the input device(s) 412 of the user interface 406of FIG. 4 may indicate that the route is to be transmitted. If theprocessor 408 determines that the route is to be transmitted, theprocessor 408 provides one or more control signal(s) and/orinstruction(s) to the radio transmitter 402 of FIG. 4 instructing theradio transmitter 402 to transmit the route. In response to suchsignal(s) and/or instruction(s), the radio transmitter 402 may transmitthe route.

In some examples, the processor 408 of FIG. 4 determines whether routesare to continue being generated. For example, the processor 408 mayreceive one or more signal(s), command(s) and or instruction(s)indicating that routes are not to continue being generated at the server152. In some examples, the timing and/or duration of the generation ofthe route may be predetermined, scheduled, and/or otherwise defined byan application and/or program executing on the server 152. In someexamples, the timing and/or duration of the generation of the route maybe triggered by an event. In some examples, one or more user input(s)received via the input device(s) 412 of the user interface 406 of FIG. 4may indicate that routes are not to continue being generated. If theprocessor 408 determines that routes are not to continue beinggenerated, the route manager 419 may cease generating routes.

The example memory 410 of FIG. 4 may be implemented by any type(s)and/or any number(s) of storage device(s) such as a storage drive, aflash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), a random-access memory (RAM), acache and/or any other physical storage medium in which information isstored for any duration (e.g., for extended time periods, permanently,brief instances, for temporarily buffering, and/or for caching of theinformation). The information stored in the memory 410 may be stored inany file and/or data structure format, organization scheme, and/orarrangement. In some examples, the memory 410 stores turbine-generatedwind data (e.g., the turbine-generated wind data 228 of FIG. 2) receivedby the radio receiver 404 from one or more of the first, second, thirdand/or fourth turbines 126, 132, 138, 144 of FIG. 1. In some examples,the memory 410 stores airborne drone-generated wind data (e.g., theairborne drone-generated wind data 342 of FIG. 3) received by the radioreceiver 404 from one or more of the first, second, third and/or fourthairborne drones 158, 160, 162, 164 of FIG. 1. In some examples, thememory 410 stores the wind data 420 generated by the wind data generator418 of the server 152. In some examples, the wind data 420 stored in thememory 410 includes the aggregated turbine-generated wind data 422described above. In some examples, the wind data 420 stored in thememory 410 includes the aggregated airborne drone-generated wind data422 described above. In some examples, the memory 410 stores a route(e.g., the second route 166) generated by the route manager 419 of FIG.4. The memory 410 is accessible to the example radio transmitter 402,the example radio receiver 404, the example user interface 406, and theexample processor 408 of FIG. 4, and/or, more generally, to the exampleserver 152 of FIGS. 1 and/or 4.

While an example manner of implementing the example server 152 isillustrated in FIG. 4, one or more of the elements, processes and/ordevices illustrated in FIG. 4 may be combined, divided, re-arranged,omitted, eliminated and/or implemented in any other way. Further, theexample radio transmitter 402, the example radio receiver 404, theexample user interface 406, the example processor 408, the examplememory 410, the example data aggregator 416, the example wind datagenerator 418 and/or the example route manager 419 of FIG. 4 may beimplemented by hardware, software, firmware and/or any combination ofhardware, software and/or firmware. Thus, for example, any of theexample radio transmitter 402, the example radio receiver 404, theexample user interface 406, the example processor 408, the examplememory 410, the example data aggregator 416, the example wind datagenerator 418 and/or the example route manager 419 could be implementedby one or more analog or digital circuit(s), logic circuits,programmable processor(s), application specific integrated circuit(s)(ASIC(s)), programmable logic device(s) (PLD(s)) and/or fieldprogrammable logic device(s) (FPLD(s)). When reading any of theapparatus or system claims of this patent to cover a purely softwareand/or firmware implementation, at least one of the example radiotransmitter 402, the example radio receiver 404, the example userinterface 406, the example processor 408, the example memory 410, theexample data aggregator 416, the example wind data generator 418 and/orthe example route manager 419 is/are hereby expressly defined to includea tangible computer readable storage device or storage disk such as amemory, a digital versatile disk (DVD), a compact disk (CD), a Blu-raydisk, etc. storing the software and/or firmware. Further still, theexample server 152 of FIG. 4 may include one or more elements, processesand/or devices in addition to, or instead of, those illustrated in FIG.4, and/or may include more than one of any or all of the illustratedelements, processes and devices.

FIG. 5 illustrates the example drone 102 of FIGS. 1 and/or 3 beinglaunched by a first example launch booster 502 corresponding to theexample launch booster 350 of FIG. 3. In the illustrated example of FIG.5, the first launch booster 502 is a catapult. In the illustratedexample of FIG. 5, the drone 102 is in contact with and/or releasablycoupled to the first launch booster 502 prior to being launched. Thedrone 102 separates and/or releases from the first launch booster 502during an initial portion of the launch. For example, in response to thefirst launch booster 502 being triggered and/or otherwise activated, thefirst launch booster 502 launches the drone 102 upward (e.g., skyward)from an example launch location 504 in a direction of a desired flightpath. As a result of being launched, the drone 102 is propelled upwardtoward an example launch apex 506. In some examples, the launch manager336 of FIG. 3 determines that the launch apex 506 of FIG. 5 has beenreached and/or detected by the drone 102. In some examples, the powermanager 338 of FIG. 3 provides power to one or more motor(s) of thedrone 102 in response to the detection of the launch apex 506 of FIG. 5.In some examples, the shape manager 340 of FIG. 3 changes a shape of thedrone 102 in response to the detection of the launch apex 506 of FIG. 5.In the illustrated example of FIG. 5, the drone 102 travels (e.g., downglides with and/or without power) toward an example destination location508 once the launch apex 506 of FIG. 5 has been reached and/or detected.

FIG. 6 illustrates the example drone 102 of FIGS. 1 and/or 3 beinglaunched by a second example launch booster 602 corresponding to theexample launch booster 350 of FIG. 3. In the illustrated example of FIG.6, the second launch booster 602 is a slingshot. In the illustratedexample of FIG. 6, the drone 102 is in contact with and/or releasablycoupled to the second launch booster 602 prior to being launched. Thedrone 102 separates and/or releases from the second launch booster 602during an initial portion of the launch. For example, in response to thesecond launch booster 602 being triggered and/or otherwise activated,the second launch booster 602 launches the drone 102 upward (e.g.,skyward) from an example launch location 604 in a direction of a desiredflight path. As a result of being launched, the drone 102 is propelledupward toward an example launch apex 606. In some examples, the launchmanager 336 of FIG. 3 determines that the launch apex 606 of FIG. 6 hasbeen reached and/or detected by the drone 102. In some examples, thepower manager 338 of FIG. 3 provides power to one or more motor(s) ofthe drone 102 in response to the detection of the launch apex 606 ofFIG. 6. In some examples, the shape manager 340 of FIG. 3 changes ashape of the drone 102 in response to the detection of the launch apex606 of FIG. 6. In the illustrated example of FIG. 6, the drone 102travels (e.g., down glides with and/or without power) toward an exampledestination location 608 once the launch apex 606 of FIG. 6 has beenreached and/or detected.

FIG. 7 illustrates the example drone 102 of FIGS. 1 and/or 3 beinglaunched by a third example launch booster 702 corresponding to theexample launch booster 350 of FIG. 3. In the illustrated example of FIG.7, the third launch booster 702 is a balloon. In the illustrated exampleof FIG. 7, the drone 102 is releasably coupled to the third launchbooster 702 prior to being launched. The drone 102 separates and/orreleases from the third launch booster 702 at a specified time and/oraltitude during the launch in response to one or more instruction(s)received from the launch manager 336 of FIG. 3. For example, the thirdlaunch booster 702 launches the drone 102 upward (e.g., skyward) from anexample launch location 704. As a result of being launched, the drone102 is propelled upward toward an example launch apex 706. In someexamples, the launch apex 706 coincides with an altitude at which thelaunch manager 336 of FIG. 3 determines that the drone 102 is toseparate and/or release from the third launch booster 702. In someexamples, the launch manager 336 of FIG. 3 determines that the launchapex 706 of FIG. 7 has been reached and/or detected by the drone 102. Insome examples, the power manager 338 of FIG. 3 provides power to one ormore motor(s) of the drone 102 in response to the detection of thelaunch apex 706 of FIG. 7. In some examples, the shape manager 340 ofFIG. 3 changes a shape of the drone 102 in response to the detection ofthe launch apex 706 of FIG. 7. In the illustrated example of FIG. 7, thedrone 102 travels (e.g., down glides with and/or without power) towardan example destination location 708 once the launch apex 706 of FIG. 7has been reached and/or detected.

FIG. 8 illustrates the example drone 102 of FIGS. 1 and/or 3 beinglaunched by a fourth example launch booster 802 corresponding to theexample launch booster 350 of FIG. 3. In the illustrated example of FIG.8, the fourth launch booster 802 is a vacuum chamber. In the illustratedexample of FIG. 8, the drone 102 engages the fourth launch booster 802in conjunction with being launched from an example launch location 804.As the drone 102 enters the lower end of the fourth launch booster 802proximate the launch location 804, the vacuum forces generated by thefourth launch booster 802 propel and/or launch the drone 102 through thefourth launch booster 802 and upward (e.g., skyward) from an upper endof the fourth launch booster 802. As a result of being launched, thedrone 102 is propelled upward toward an example launch apex 806. In someexamples, the launch manager 336 of FIG. 3 determines that the launchapex 806 of FIG. 8 has been reached and/or detected by the drone 102. Insome examples, the power manager 338 of FIG. 3 provides power to one ormore motor(s) of the drone 102 in response to the detection of thelaunch apex 806 of FIG. 8. In some examples, the shape manager 340 ofFIG. 3 changes a shape of the drone 102 in response to the detection ofthe launch apex 806 of FIG. 8. In the illustrated example of FIG. 8, thedrone 102 travels (e.g., down glides with and/or without power) towardan example destination location 808 once the launch apex 806 of FIG. 8has been reached and/or detected.

FIG. 9A illustrates the example drone 102 of FIGS. 1 and/or 3 in a firstexample configuration 902. FIG. 9B illustrates the example drone 102 ofFIGS. 1, 3 and/or 9A in a second example configuration 904. In theillustrated example of FIG. 9A, the first configuration 902 of the drone102 has an example elliptical and/or egg-like shape. In the illustratedexample of FIG. 9B, the second configuration 904 of the drone 102 has anexample irregular shape formed by the extension of example arms 906 andexample legs 908 of the drone 102 outward relative to the ellipticaland/or egg-like shape of the first configuration 902 of FIG. 9A. In someexamples, the shape manager 340 of FIG. 3 transforms and/or changes theshape of the drone 102 from the elliptical and/or egg-like shapecorresponding to the first configuration 902 of FIG. 9A to the irregularshape corresponding to the second configuration 904 of FIG. 9B. In someexamples, the shape manager 340 of FIG. 3 changes the shape of the drone102 in response to the launch manager 336 of FIG. 3 determining that thedrone 102 has reached a launch apex. In some examples, the power manager338 of FIG. 3 provides and/or supplies power to an example motor 910 ofthe drone 102 in response to the launch manager 336 of FIG. 3determining that the drone 102 has reached a launch apex and/or inresponse to the shape manager 340 of FIG. 3 changing the shape of thedrone 102. Power provided to the motor 910 of the drone causes anexample rotor 912 coupled to the motor 910 to rotate to propel and/orenable flight of the drone 102.

Flowcharts representative of example machine readable instructions whichmay be executed to collect and/or transmit turbine-generated wind data,collect and/or transmit airborne drone-generated wind data, generateand/or transmit wind data including turbine-generated wind data and/orairborne drone-generated wind data, generate and/or transmit a route fora flight of a drone based on wind data including turbine-generated winddata and/or airborne drone-generated wind data, and/or to control thesupply of power to the drone and the shape of the drone in connectionwith launching the drone are shown in FIGS. 10-16. In these examples,the machine-readable instructions may implement one or more program(s)for execution by a processor such as the example controller 216 of FIG.2 shown in the example processor platform 1700 discussed below inconnection with FIG. 17, the example controller 316 of FIG. 3 shown inthe example processor platform 1800 discussed below in connection withFIG. 18, and/or the example processor 408 of FIG. 4 shown in the exampleprocessor platform 1900 discussed below in connection with FIG. 19. Theone or more program(s) may be embodied in software stored on a tangiblecomputer readable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, a harddrive, a digital versatile disk (DVD), a Blu-ray disk, or a memoryassociated with the controller 216 of FIG. 2, the controller 316 of FIG.3, and/or the processor 408 of FIG. 4, but the entire program(s) and/orparts thereof could alternatively be executed by a device other than thecontroller 216 of FIG. 2, the controller 316 of FIG. 3, and/or theprocessor 408 of FIG. 4, and/or embodied in firmware or dedicatedhardware. Further, although the example program(s) is/are described withreference to the flowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 10-16, many othermethods for collecting and transmitting turbine-generated wind data, forcollecting and transmitting airborne drone-generated wind data, forgenerating and transmitting wind data including turbine-generated winddata and/or airborne drone-generated wind data, for generating andtransmitting a route for a flight of a drone based on wind dataincluding turbine-generated wind data and/or airborne drone-generatedwind data, and for controlling the supply of power to the drone and theshape of the drone in connection with launching the drone mayalternatively be used. For example, the order of execution of the blocksmay be changed, and/or some of the blocks described may be changed,eliminated, or combined.

As mentioned above, the example instructions of FIGS. 10-16 may bestored on a tangible computer readable storage medium such as a harddisk drive, a flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), a compact disk(CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a cache, a random-access memory(RAM) and/or any other storage device or storage disk in whichinformation is stored for any duration (e.g., for extended time periods,permanently, for brief instances, for temporarily buffering, and/or forcaching of the information). As used herein, the term “tangible computerreadable storage medium” is expressly defined to include any type ofcomputer readable storage device and/or storage disk and to excludepropagating signals and to exclude transmission media. As used herein,“tangible computer readable storage medium” and “tangible machinereadable storage medium” are used interchangeably. Additionally oralternatively, the example instructions of FIGS. 10-16 may be stored ona non-transitory computer and/or machine-readable medium such as a harddisk drive, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a compact disk, adigital versatile disk, a cache, a random-access memory and/or any otherstorage device or storage disk in which information is stored for anyduration (e.g., for extended time periods, permanently, for briefinstances, for temporarily buffering, and/or for caching of theinformation). As used herein, the term “non-transitory computer readablemedium” is expressly defined to include any type of computer readablestorage device and/or storage disk and to exclude propagating signalsand to exclude transmission media. As used herein, when the phrase “atleast” is used as the transition term in a preamble of a claim, it isopen-ended in the same manner as the term “comprising” is open ended.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions 1000 that may be executed at a turbine (e.g., the turbine200 of FIG. 2) to collect and transmit example turbine-generated winddata (e.g., the example turbine-generated wind data 228 of FIG. 2). Theexample program 1000 begins when the example data aggregator 224 of FIG.2 determines a direction of an airflow detected by the turbine (block1002). For example, the data aggregator 224 may collect, access, obtain,process, determine, and/or otherwise identify the airflow direction data230 sensed, measured and/or detected by the wind vane 202 of FIG. 2. Theairflow direction data 230 collected, accessed, obtained, processed,determined, and/or otherwise identified by the data aggregator 224 mayinclude timing information (e.g., time stamps) corresponding to times atwhich the airflow direction data 230 was sensed, measured and/ordetected by the wind vane 202 of FIG. 2. Following block 1002, controlproceeds to block 1004.

At block 1004, the example data aggregator 224 of FIG. 2 determines aspeed of the airflow detected by the turbine (block 1004). For example,the data aggregator 224 may collect, access, obtain, process, determine,and/or otherwise identify the airflow speed data 232 sensed, measuredand/or detected by the anemometer 204 of FIG. 2. The airflow speed data232 collected, accessed, obtained, processed, determined and/orotherwise identified by the data aggregator 224 may include timinginformation (e.g., time stamps) corresponding to times at which theairflow speed data 232 was sensed, measured and/or detected by theanemometer 204 of FIG. 2. Following block 1004, control proceeds toblock 1006.

At block 1006, the example data aggregator 224 of FIG. 2 determines alocation of the turbine (block 1006). For example, the data aggregator224 may collect, access, obtain, process, determine and/or otherwiseidentify the location data 234 identified and/or derived from thesignal(s) collected and/or received by the GPS receiver 206 of FIG. 2.The data aggregator 224 may additionally and/or alternatively collect,access, obtain, process, determine, and/or otherwise identify thealtitude data sensed, measured and/or detected by the altimeter 208 ofFIG. 2. The location data 234 collected, accessed, obtained, processed,determined, and/or otherwise identified by the data aggregator 224 mayinclude timing information (e.g., time stamps) corresponding to times atwhich the location data 234 was collected, received and/or detected bythe GPS receiver 206 and/or the altimeter 208 of FIG. 2. Following block1006, control proceeds to block 1008.

At block 1008, the example wind data generator 226 of FIG. 2 generatesturbine wind data (e.g., the turbine-generated wind data 228 of FIG. 2)based on the direction of the airflow detected by the turbine, the speedof the airflow detected by the turbine, and the location of the turbine(block 1008). In some examples, the turbine-generated wind data 228includes the airflow direction data 230, the airflow speed data 232and/or the location data 234 described above. In some examples, the winddata generator 226 synchronizes and/or otherwise organizes theturbine-generated wind data 228 based on the timing informationassociated with each of the airflow direction data 230, the airflowspeed data 232, and the location data 234. Following block 1008, controlproceeds to block 1010.

At block 1010, the example controller 216 of FIG. 2 determines whether arequest has been received for the turbine-generated wind data (block1010). For example, the controller 216 may receive one or moresignal(s), command(s) and or instruction(s) indicating a request for theturbine-generated wind data 228. If the controller 216 determines atblock 1010 that a request for the turbine-generated wind data has notbeen received, control returns to block 1002. If the controller 216instead determines at block 1010 that a request for theturbine-generated wind data has been received, control proceeds to block1012.

At block 1012, the example radio transmitter 210 of FIG. 2 transmits theturbine-generated wind data (block 1012). For example, the radiotransmitter 210 may transmit the turbine-generated wind data 228generated by the wind data generator 226 of FIG. 2 to the server 152 ofFIGS. 1 and/or 4, and/or the drone 102 of FIGS. 1 and/or 3. Followingblock 1012, control proceeds to block 1014.

At block 1014, the example controller 216 of FIG. 2 determines whetherturbine-generated wind data is to continue being generated (block 1014).For example, the controller 216 may receive one or more signal(s),command(s) and or instruction(s) indicating that turbine-generated winddata is not to continue being generated. If the controller 216determines at block 1014 that turbine-generated wind data is to continuebeing generated, control returns to block 1002. If the controller 216instead determines at block 1014 that turbine-generated wind data is notto continue being generated, the example program 1000 of FIG. 10 ends.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions 1100 that may be executed at a drone (e.g., the drone 300of FIG. 3) to collect and transmit example airborne drone-generated winddata (e.g., the airborne drone-generated wind data 342 of FIG. 3). Theexample program 1100 begins when the example data aggregator 330 of FIG.3 determines a direction of an airflow detected by the airborne drone(block 1102). For example, the data aggregator 330 may collect, access,obtain, process, determine, and/or otherwise identify the airflowdirection data 344 sensed, measured and/or detected by the IMU 302 ofFIG. 3. The airflow direction data 344 collected, accessed, obtained,processed, determined, and/or otherwise identified by the dataaggregator 330 may include timing information (e.g., time stamps)corresponding to times at which the airflow direction data 344 wassensed, measured and/or detected by the IMU 302 of FIG. 3. Followingblock 1102, control proceeds to block 1104.

At block 1104, the example data aggregator 330 of FIG. 3 determines aspeed of the airflow detected by the airborne drone (block 1104). Forexample, the data aggregator 330 may collect, access, process,determine, obtain and/or otherwise identify the airflow speed data 346sensed, measured and/or detected by the IMU 302 of FIG. 3. The airflowspeed data 346 collected, accessed, obtained, processed, determined,and/or otherwise identified by the data aggregator 330 may includetiming information (e.g., time stamps) corresponding to times at whichthe airflow speed data 346 was sensed, measured and/or detected by theIMU 302 of FIG. 3. Following block 1104, control proceeds to block 1106.

At block 1106, the example data aggregator 330 of FIG. 3 determines alocation of the airborne drone (block 1106). For example, the dataaggregator 330 may collect, access, obtain, process, determine, and/orotherwise identify the location data 348 identified and/or derived fromthe signal(s) collected and/or received by the GPS receiver 306 of FIG.3. The data aggregator 330 may additionally and/or alternativelycollect, access, obtain, process, determine, and/or otherwise identifythe altitude data sensed, measured and/or detected by the altimeter 308of FIG. 3. The location data 348 collected, accessed, obtained,processed, determined, and/or otherwise identified by the dataaggregator 330 may include timing information (e.g., time stamps)corresponding to times at which the location data 348 was collected,received and/or detected by the GPS receiver 306 and/or the altimeter308 of FIG. 3. Following block 1106, control proceeds to block 1108.

At block 1108, the example wind data generator 332 of FIG. 3 generatesairborne drone-generated wind data (e.g., the airborne drone-generatedwind data 342 of FIG. 3) based on the direction of the airflow detectedby the airborne drone, the speed of the airflow detected by the airbornedrone, and the location of the airborne drone (block 1108). In someexamples, the airborne drone-generated wind data 342 includes theairflow direction data 344, the airflow speed data 346 and/or thelocation data 348 described above. In some examples, the wind datagenerator 332 synchronizes and/or otherwise organizes the airbornedrone-generated wind data 342 based on the timing information associatedwith each of the airflow direction data 344, the airflow speed data 346,and the location data 348. Following block 1108, control proceeds toblock 1110.

At block 1110, the example controller 316 of FIG. 3 determines whether arequest has been received for the airborne drone-generated wind data(block 1110). For example, the controller 316 may receive one or moresignal(s), command(s) and or instruction(s) indicating a request for theairborne drone-generated wind data 342. If the controller 316 determinesat block 1110 that a request for the airborne drone-generated wind datahas not been received, control returns to block 1102. If the controller316 instead determines at block 1110 that a request for the airbornedrone-generated wind data has been received, control proceeds to block1112.

At block 1112, the example radio transmitter 310 of FIG. 3 transmits theairborne drone-generated wind data (block 1112). For example, the radiotransmitter 310 may transmit the airborne drone-generated wind data 342generated by the wind data generator 332 of FIG. 3 to the server 152 ofFIGS. 1 and/or 4, and/or the drone 102 of FIGS. 1 and/or 3. Followingblock 1112, control proceeds to block 1114.

At block 1114, the example controller 316 of FIG. 3 determines whetherairborne drone-generated wind data is to continue being generated (block1114). For example, the controller 316 may receive one or moresignal(s), command(s) and or instruction(s) indicating that airbornedrone-generated wind data is not to continue being generated. If thecontroller 316 determines at block 1114 that airborne drone-generatedwind data is to continue being generated, control returns to block 1102.If the controller 316 instead determines at block 1114 that airbornedrone-generated wind data is not to continue being generated, theexample program 1100 of FIG. 12 ends.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions 1200 that may be executed at a server (e.g., the exampleserver 152 of FIGS. 1 and/or 4) to generate and transmit example winddata (e.g., the wind data 420 of FIG. 4) including turbine-generatedwind data (e.g., the aggregated turbine-generated wind data 422 of FIG.4) and/or airborne drone-generated wind data (e.g., the aggregatedairborne drone-generated wind data 424 of FIG. 4).

The example program 1200 begins when the example data aggregator 416 ofFIG. 4 determines whether turbine-generated wind data has been received(block 1202). For example, the data aggregator 416 may receive one ormore signal(s), command(s) and or instruction(s) indicating thatturbine-generated wind data 228 has been received from the turbine 200of FIG. 2 (e.g., from one or more of the first, second, third and/orfourth turbines 126, 132, 138, 144 of FIG. 1). If the data aggregator416 determines at block 1202 that turbine-generated wind data has beenreceived from one or more turbine(s), control proceeds to block 1204. Ifthe data aggregator 416 instead determines at block 1202 thatturbine-generated wind data has not been received, control proceeds toblock 1206.

At block 1204, the example data aggregator 416 of FIG. 4 generatesaggregated turbine-generated wind data (e.g., the aggregatedturbine-generated wind data 422 of FIG. 4) by combining and/oraggregating the turbine-generated wind data received from various onesof the turbines (e.g., the first, second, third and/or fourth turbine(s)126, 132, 138, 144 of FIG. 1) (block 1204). Following block 1204,control proceeds to block 1206.

At block 1206, the example data aggregator 416 of FIG. 4 determineswhether airborne drone-generated wind data has been received (block1206). For example, the data aggregator 416 may receive one or moresignal(s), command(s) and or instruction(s) indicating that airbornedrone-generated wind data 342 has been received from the drone 300 ofFIG. 3 (e.g., from one or more of the first, second, third and/or fourthairborne drones 158, 160, 162, 164 of FIG. 1). If the data aggregator416 determines at block 1206 that airborne drone-generated wind data hasbeen received from one or more airborne drone(s), control proceeds toblock 1208. If the data aggregator 416 instead determines at block 1206that airborne drone-generated wind data has not been received, controlproceeds to block 1210.

At block 1208, the example data aggregator 416 of FIG. 4 generatesaggregated airborne drone-generated wind data (e.g., the aggregatedairborne drone-generated wind data 424 of FIG. 4) by combining and/oraggregating the airborne drone-generated wind data received from variousones of the airborne drones (e.g., the first, second, third and/orfourth airborne drone(s) 158, 160, 162, 164 of FIG. 1) (block 1208).Following block 1208, control proceeds to block 1210.

At block 1210, the example data aggregator 416 of FIG. 4 determineswhether any turbine-generated wind data or airborne drone-generated winddata has been received (block 1210). For example, the data aggregator416 may receive one or more signal(s), command(s) and or instruction(s)indicating that turbine-generated wind data and/or airbornedrone-generated wind data has been received. If the data aggregator 416determines at block 1210 that no turbine-generated wind data or airbornedrone-generated wind data has been received, control returns to block1202. If the data aggregator 416 instead determines at block 1210 thatturbine-generated wind data and/or airborne drone-generated wind datahas been received, control proceeds to block 1212.

At block 1212, the example wind data generator 418 of FIG. 4 generateswind data (e.g., the wind data 420 of FIG. 4) based on the aggregatedturbine-generated wind data and/or the aggregated airbornedrone-generated wind data (block 1212). For example, the wind datagenerator 418 may generate the wind data 420 of FIG. 4 by combiningand/or aggregating the aggregated turbine-generated wind data 422 ofFIG. 4 and the aggregated airborne drone-generated wind data 424 of FIG.4. Following block 1212, control proceeds to block 1214.

At block 1214, the example processor 408 of FIG. 4 determines whether arequest has been received for the wind data (block 1214). For example,the processor 408 may receive one or more signal(s), command(s) and orinstruction(s) indicating a request for the wind data 420 of FIG. 4. Ifthe processor 408 determines at block 1214 that a request for the winddata has not been received, control returns to block 1202. If theprocessor 408 instead determines at block 1214 that a request for thewind data has been received, control proceeds to block 1216.

At block 1216, the example radio transmitter 402 of FIG. 4 transmits thewind data (block 1216). For example, the radio transmitter 402 maytransmit the wind data 420 generated by the wind data generator 418 ofFIG. 4 to the drone 102 of FIGS. 1 and/or 3. Following block 1216,control proceeds to block 1218.

At block 1218, the example processor 408 of FIG. 4 determines whetherwind data is to continue being generated (block 1218). For example, theprocessor 408 may receive one or more signal(s), command(s) and orinstruction(s) indicating that wind data is not to continue beinggenerated. If the processor 408 determines at block 1218 that wind datais to continue being generated, control returns to block 1202. If theprocessor 408 instead determines at block 1218 that wind data is not tocontinue being generated, the example program 1200 of FIG. 12 ends.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions 1300 that may be executed at a server (e.g., the exampleserver 152 of FIGS. 1 and/or 4) to generate and transmit a route (e.g.,the second route 166 of FIG. 1) for a flight of a drone based on winddata (e.g., the wind data 420 of FIG. 4) including turbine-generatedwind data (e.g., the aggregated turbine-generated wind data 422 of FIG.4) and/or airborne drone-generated wind data (e.g., the aggregatedairborne drone-generated wind data 424 of FIG. 4).

The example program 1300 begins when the example data aggregator 416 ofFIG. 4 determines whether turbine-generated wind data has been received(block 1302). For example, the data aggregator 416 may receive one ormore signal(s), command(s) and or instruction(s) indicating thatturbine-generated wind data 228 has been received from the turbine 200of FIG. 2 (e.g., from one or more of the first, second, third and/orfourth turbines 126, 132, 138, 144 of FIG. 1). If the data aggregator416 determines at block 1302 that turbine-generated wind data has beenreceived from one or more turbine(s), control proceeds to block 1304. Ifthe data aggregator 416 instead determines at block 1302 thatturbine-generated wind data has not been received, control proceeds toblock 1306.

At block 1304, the example data aggregator 416 of FIG. 4 generatesaggregated turbine-generated wind data (e.g., the aggregatedturbine-generated wind data 422 of FIG. 4) by combining and/oraggregating the turbine-generated wind data received from various onesof the turbines (e.g., the first, second, third and/or fourth turbine(s)126, 132, 138, 144 of FIG. 1) (block 1304). Following block 1304,control proceeds to block 1306.

At block 1306, the example data aggregator 416 of FIG. 4 determineswhether airborne drone-generated wind data has been received (block1306). For example, the data aggregator 416 may receive one or moresignal(s), command(s) and or instruction(s) indicating that airbornedrone-generated wind data 342 has been received from the drone 300 ofFIG. 3 (e.g., from one or more of the first, second, third and/or fourthairborne drones 158, 160, 162, 164 of FIG. 1). If the data aggregator416 determines at block 1306 that airborne drone-generated wind data hasbeen received from one or more airborne drone(s), control proceeds toblock 1308. If the data aggregator 416 instead determines at block 1306that airborne drone-generated wind data has not been received, controlproceeds to block 1310.

At block 1308, the example data aggregator 416 of FIG. 4 generatesaggregated airborne drone-generated wind data (e.g., the aggregatedairborne drone-generated wind data 424 of FIG. 4) by combining and/oraggregating the airborne drone-generated wind data received from variousones of the airborne drones (e.g., the first, second, third and/orfourth airborne drone(s) 158, 160, 162, 164 of FIG. 1) (block 1308).Following block 1308, control proceeds to block 1310.

At block 1310, the example data aggregator 416 of FIG. 4 determineswhether any turbine-generated wind data or airborne drone-generated winddata has been received (block 1310). For example, the data aggregator416 may receive one or more signal(s), command(s) and or instruction(s)indicating that turbine-generated wind data and/or airbornedrone-generated wind data has been received. If the data aggregator 416determines at block 1310 that no turbine-generated wind data or airbornedrone-generated wind data has been received, control returns to block1302. If the data aggregator 416 instead determines at block 1310 thatturbine-generated wind data and/or airborne drone-generated wind datahas been received, control proceeds to block 1312.

At block 1312, the example wind data generator 418 of FIG. 4 generateswind data (e.g., the wind data 420 of FIG. 4) based on the aggregatedturbine-generated wind data and/or the aggregated airbornedrone-generated wind data (block 1312). For example, the wind datagenerator 418 may generate the wind data 420 of FIG. 4 by combiningand/or aggregating the aggregated turbine-generated wind data 422 ofFIG. 4 and the aggregated airborne drone-generated wind data 424 of FIG.4. Following block 1312, control proceeds to block 1314.

At block 1314, the example processor 408 of FIG. 4 determines whether arequest has been received for a route of a flight of a drone (block1314). For example, the processor 408 may receive one or more signal(s),command(s) and or instruction(s) indicating a request for a flight of adrone, where the request includes information and/or data identifying alaunch location and a destination location for the flight. If theprocessor 408 determines at block 1314 that a request for a route of aflight of a drone has not been received, control returns to block 1302.If the processor 408 instead determines at block 1314 that a request forthe wind data has been received, control proceeds to block 1316.

At block 1316, the example route manager 419 of FIG. 4 generates a routefor a flight of a drone based on the wind data (e.g., the wind data 420including the aggregated turbine-generated wind data 422 and/or theaggregated airborne drone-generated wind data 424 of FIG. 4) and basedon the request data (e.g., the identified launch location anddestination location for the flight of the drone) (block 1316). Forexample, the route manager 419 may generate the second route 166 of FIG.1 to be followed by the drone 102 during the flight of the drone 102through and/or over the area 104 from the launch location 106 to thedestination location 108 of FIG. 1. In some examples, the routegenerated by the route manager 419 passes through a tailwind area withinwhich the drone is to engage a tailwind during the flight. In someexamples, the route generated by the route manager 419 passes through anupdraft area within which the drone is to engage an updraft during theflight. Following block 1316, control proceeds to block 1318.

At block 1318, the example radio transmitter 402 of FIG. 4 transmits theroute (block 1318). For example, the radio transmitter 402 may transmitthe route (e.g., the second route 166) generated by the route generator419 of FIG. 4 to the drone 102 of FIGS. 1 and/or 3. Following block1318, control proceeds to block 1320.

At block 1320, the example processor 408 of FIG. 4 determines whetherroutes are to continue being generated (block 1320). For example, theprocessor 408 may receive one or more signal(s), command(s) and orinstruction(s) indicating that routes are not to continue beinggenerated. If the processor 408 determines at block 1320 that routes areto continue being generated, control returns to block 1302. If theprocessor 408 instead determines at block 1320 that routes are not tocontinue being generated, the example program 1300 of FIG. 13 ends.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions 1400 that may be executed at a drone (e.g., the drone 300of FIG. 3) to generate a route for a flight of the drone based on winddata (e.g., the wind data 420 of FIGS. 3 and/or 4) includingturbine-generated wind data (e.g., the aggregated turbine-generated winddata 422 of FIGS. 3 and/or 4) and/or airborne drone-generated wind data(e.g., the aggregated airborne drone-generated wind data 424 of FIGS. 3and/or 4). The example program 1400 begins when the example radiotransmitter 310 of FIG. 3 transmits one or more request(s) to a server(e.g., the server 152 of FIGS. 1 and/or 4) for wind data (e.g., the winddata 420 of FIG. 4) (block 1402). Following block 1402, control proceedsto block 1404.

At block 1404, the example radio receiver 312 of FIG. 3 receives dataand/or signal(s) corresponding to wind data including turbine-generatedwind data and/or airborne drone-generated wind data (e.g., the wind data420 including the aggregated turbine-generated wind data 422 and theaggregated airborne drone-generated wind data 424 of FIGS. 3 and/or 4)(block 1404). Following block 1404, control proceeds to block 1406.

At block 1406, the example route manager 334 of FIG. 3 generates a routeto be followed during a flight of the drone based on the wind datareceived by the drone (e.g., the wind data 420 including the aggregatedturbine-generated wind data 422 and/or the aggregated airbornedrone-generated wind data 424 of FIGS. 3 and/or 4) (block 1406). Forexample, the route manager 334 may generate the second route 166 of FIG.1 to be followed by the drone 102 during the flight of the drone 102through and/or over the area 104 from the launch location 106 to thedestination location 108 of FIG. 1. In some examples, the routegenerated by the route manager 334 passes through a tailwind area withinwhich the drone is to engage a tailwind during the flight. Datacorresponding to and/or indicative of the tailwind and/or the tailwindarea may be included within the wind data received by the drone. In someexamples, the route generated by the route manager 334 passes through anupdraft area within which the drone is to engage an updraft during theflight. Data corresponding to and/or indicative of the updraft and/orthe updraft area may be included within the wind data received by thedrone. Following block 1406, control proceeds to block 1408.

At block 1408, the example route manager 334 of FIG. 3 causes the droneto follow the route generated by the route manager 334 during a flightof the drone (block 1408). For example, the route manager 334 mayprovide one or more signal(s), command(s) and/or instruction(s) to oneor more motor(s) of the drone to cause the drone to track, follow and/orotherwise move along the route generated by the route manager 334 duringa flight of the drone. Following block 1408, control proceeds to block1410.

At block 1410, the example route manager 334 of FIG. 3 determineswhether to update the route being followed by the drone (block 1410).For example, the route manager 334 may receive one or more signal(s),command(s) and or instruction(s) indicating that the route is to beupdated (e.g., updated based on more current wind data). If the routemanager 334 determines at block 1410 that that the route is to beupdated, control returns to block 1402. If the route manager 334 insteaddetermines at block 1410 that the route is not to be updated, controlproceeds to block 1412.

At block 1412, the example route manager 334 of FIG. 3 determineswhether the route being followed by the drone has been completed (block1412). For example, based on location data obtained and/or accessed fromthe GPS receiver 306 of FIG. 3, the route manager 334 may determinewhether a current position and/or location of the drone coincides with(e.g., matches) a destination location of a route being followed by thedrone during a flight of the drone. The route being followed by thedrone has been completed when the current location of the dronecoincides with the destination location of the route. If the routemanager 334 determines at block 1412 that that the route being followedby the drone has not been completed, control returns to block 1408. Ifthe route manager 334 instead determines at block 1412 that the routebeing followed by the drone has been completed, the example program 1400of FIG. 14 ends.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions 1500 that may be executed at a drone (e.g., the drone 300of FIG. 3) to obtain a route for a flight of the drone based on winddata (e.g., the wind data 420 of FIGS. 3 and/or 4) includingturbine-generated wind data (e.g., the aggregated turbine-generated winddata 422 of FIGS. 3 and/or 4) and/or airborne drone-generated wind data(e.g., the aggregated airborne drone-generated wind data 424 of FIGS. 3and/or 4). The example program 1500 begins when the example radiotransmitter 310 of FIG. 3 transmits one or more request(s) to a server(e.g., the server 152 of FIGS. 1 and/or 4) for a route of a flight ofthe drone, the request including information and/or data identifying alaunch location and a destination location for the flight (block 1502).Following block 1502, control proceeds to block 1504.

At block 1504, the example radio receiver 312 of FIG. 3 receives dataand/or signal(s) corresponding to a route for a flight of the dronebased on wind data including turbine-generated wind data and/or airbornedrone-generated wind data (e.g., the wind data 420 including theaggregated turbine-generated wind data 422 and the aggregated airbornedrone-generated wind data 424 of FIGS. 3 and/or 4) and based oninformation and/or data included in the request (e.g., the identifiedlaunch location and destination location for the flight) (block 1504).In some examples, the route passes through a tailwind area within whichthe drone is to engage a tailwind during the flight. In some examples,the route passes through an updraft area within which the drone is toengage an updraft during the flight. Following block 1504, controlproceeds to block 1506.

At block 1506, the example route manager 334 of FIG. 3 causes the droneto follow the route during a flight of the drone (block 1506). Forexample, the route manager 334 may provide one or more signal(s),command(s) and/or instruction(s) to one or more motor(s) of the drone tocause the drone to track, follow and/or otherwise move along the routeduring a flight of the drone. Following block 1506, control proceeds toblock 1508.

At block 1508, the example route manager 334 of FIG. 3 determineswhether to update the route being followed by the drone (block 1508).For example, the route manager 334 may receive one or more signal(s),command(s) and or instruction(s) indicating that the route is to beupdated (e.g., updated based on more current wind data). If the routemanager 334 determines at block 1508 that that the route is to beupdated, control returns to block 1502. If the route manager 334 insteaddetermines at block 1508 that the route is not to be updated, controlproceeds to block 1510.

At block 1510, the example route manager 334 of FIG. 3 determineswhether the route being followed by the drone has been completed (block1510). For example, based on location data obtained and/or accessed fromthe GPS receiver 306 of FIG. 3, the route manager 334 may determinewhether a current position and/or location of the drone coincides with(e.g., matches) a destination location of a route being followed by thedrone during a flight of the drone. The route being followed by thedrone has been completed when the current location of the dronecoincides with the destination location of the route. If the routemanager 334 determines at block 1510 that that the route being followedby the drone has not been completed, control returns to block 1506. Ifthe route manager 334 instead determines at block 1510 that the routebeing followed by the drone has been completed, the example program 1500of FIG. 15 ends.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions 1600 that may be executed at a drone (e.g., the drone 300of FIG. 3) to control the supply of power to the drone and to controlthe shape of the drone in connection with launching the drone. Theexample program 1600 begins when the example launch manager 336 of FIG.3 determines whether an apex of a launch of the drone via the examplelaunch booster 350 of FIG. 3 has been reached (block 1602). For example,the launch manager 336 may determine that an apex of a launch via thelaunch booster 350 has been reached based on altitude data sensed,measured and/or detected by the altimeter 308 of FIG. 3. If the launchmanager 336 determines at block 1602 that the apex of the launch via thelaunch booster 350 has not been reached, control remains at block 1602.If the launch manager 336 instead determines at block 1602 that the apexof the launch via the launch booster 350 has been reached, controlproceeds to block 1604.

At block 1604, the example power manager 338 of FIG. 3 determineswhether to provide and/or supply power from the power source 320 of FIG.3 to one or more motor(s) of the drone in response to the launch manager336 of FIG. 3 determining that an apex of the launch has been reached(block 1604). For example, the power manager 338 may receive one or moresignal(s), command(s) and or instruction(s) indicating that power is tobe supplied from the power source 320 to one or more motor(s) of thedrone in response to the launch manager 336 determining that an apex ofthe launch has been reached. If the power manager 338 determines atblock 1604 that power is to be supplied from the power source 320 to oneor more motor(s) of the drone in response to the launch manager 336determining that an apex of the launch has been reached, controlproceeds to block 1606. If the power manager 338 instead determines atblock 1604 that power is not to be supplied from the power source 320 toone or more motor(s) of the drone in response to the launch manager 336determining that an apex of the launch has been reached, controlproceeds to block 1608.

At block 1606, the power manager 338 provides and/or supplies power fromthe power source 320 of FIG. 3 to one or more motor(s) of the drone(block 1606). For example, the power manager 338 may provide one or moresignal(s), command(s) and/or instruction(s) to the power source 320 ofFIG. 3 and/or to one or more motor(s) of the drone to cause the powersource 320 to provide and/or supply power to the one or more motor(s) ofthe drone. Following block 1606, control proceeds to block 1608.

At block 1608, the shape manager 340 of FIG. 3 determines whether tochange a shape of one or more shape adjustable component(s) (e.g., anextendable and/or transformable arm) of the drone in response to thelaunch manager 336 of FIG. 3 determining that an apex of the launch hasbeen reached (block 1608). For example, the shape manager 340 mayreceive one or more signal(s), command(s) and or instruction(s)indicating that a shape of one or more shape adjustable component(s) ofthe drone is/are to be changed in response to the launch manager 336determining that an apex of the launch has been reached. If the shapemanager 340 determines at block 1608 to change a shape of one or moreshape adjustable component(s) of the drone in response to the launchmanager 336 of FIG. 3 determining that an apex of the launch has beenreached, control proceeds to block 1610. If the shape manager 340instead determines at block 1608 not to change a shape of one or moreshape adjustable component(s) of the drone in response to the launchmanager 336 of FIG. 3 determining that an apex of the launch has beenreached, the example program 1600 of FIG. 16 ends.

At block 1610, the shape manager 340 powers one or more motor(s) of thedrone to change the shape of one or more shape adjustable component(s)of the drone (block 1610). For example, the shape manager 340 mayprovide one or more signal(s), command(s) and/or instruction(s) to oneor more motor(s) of the drone and/or one or more shape adjustablecomponent(s) of the drone to cause the shape adjustable component(s) tochange shape. Following block 1610, the example program 1600 of FIG. 16ends.

FIG. 17 is an example processor platform 1700 capable of executing theinstructions of FIG. 10 to implement the example turbine 200 of FIG. 2.The processor platform 1700 of the illustrated example includes aprocessor implemented as the example controller 216 of FIG. 2. Thecontroller 216 of the illustrated example is hardware. For example, thecontroller 216 can be implemented by one or more integrated circuit(s),logic circuit(s) or microprocessor(s) from any desired family ormanufacturer. The controller 216 of the illustrated example includes alocal memory 1702 (e.g., a cache). The controller 216 of the illustratedexample also includes the example data aggregator 224 and the examplewind data generator 226 of FIG. 2.

The controller 216 of the illustrated example is in communication withone or more example sensors 1704 via a bus 1706. The example sensors1704 include the example wind vane 202, the example anemometer 204, theexample GPS receiver 206 and the example altimeter 208 of FIG. 2.

The controller 216 of the illustrated example is also in communicationwith a main memory including a volatile memory 1708 and a non-volatilememory 1710 via the bus 1706. The volatile memory 1708 may beimplemented by Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), DynamicRandom Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS Dynamic Random Access Memory (RDRAM)and/or any other type of random access memory device. The non-volatilememory 1710 may be implemented by flash memory and/or any other desiredtype of memory device. Access to the volatile memory 1708 and thenon-volatile memory 1710 is controlled by a memory controller.

The controller 216 of the illustrated example is also in communicationwith one or more mass storage devices 1712 for storing software and/ordata. Examples of such mass storage devices 1712 include floppy diskdrives, hard disk drives, compact disk drives, Blu-ray disk drives, RAIDsystems, and digital versatile disk (DVD) drives. In the illustratedexample of FIG. 17, the mass storage device 1712 includes the examplememory 218 of FIG. 2.

The processor platform 1700 of the illustrated example also includes auser interface circuit 1714. The user interface circuit 1714 may beimplemented by any type of interface standard, such as an Ethernetinterface, a universal serial bus (USB), and/or a PCI express interface.In the illustrated example, one or more input device(s) 220 areconnected to the user interface circuit 1714. The input device(s) 220permit(s) a user to enter data and commands into the controller 216. Theinput device(s) 220 can be implemented by, for example, an audio sensor,a camera (still or video), a keyboard, a button, a mouse, a touchscreen,a track-pad, a trackball, isopoint, a voice recognition system, amicrophone, and/or a liquid crystal display. One or more outputdevice(s) 222 are also connected to the user interface circuit 1714 ofthe illustrated example. The output device(s) 222 can be implemented,for example, by a light emitting diode, an organic light emitting diode,a liquid crystal display, a touchscreen and/or a speaker. The userinterface circuit 1714 of the illustrated example may, thus, include agraphics driver such as a graphics driver chip and/or processor. In theillustrated example, the input device(s) 220, the output device(s) 222and the user interface circuit 1714 collectively form the example userinterface 214 of FIG. 2.

The processor platform 1700 of the illustrated example also includes anetwork interface circuit 1716. The network interface circuit 1716 maybe implemented by any type of interface standard, such as an Ethernetinterface, a universal serial bus (USB), and/or a PCI express interface.In the illustrated example, the network interface circuit 1716 includesthe example radio transmitter 210 and the example radio receiver 212 ofFIG. 2 to facilitate the exchange of data and/or signals with externalmachines (e.g., the server 152 of FIGS. 1 and/or 4, the drone 102 ofFIGS. 1 and/or 3, the first, second, third and/or fourth airborne drones158, 160, 162, 164 of FIGS. 1 and/or 3, etc.) via a network 1716 (e.g.,a cellular network, a wireless local area network (WLAN), etc.).

Coded instructions 1720 corresponding to FIG. 10 may be stored in thelocal memory 1702, in the volatile memory 1708, in the non-volatilememory 1710, in the mass storage device 1712, and/or on a removabletangible computer readable storage medium such as a flash memory stick,a CD or DVD.

FIG. 18 is an example processor platform 1800 capable of executing theinstructions of FIGS. 11 and 14-16 to implement the example drone 300 ofFIG. 3. The processor platform 1800 of the illustrated example includesa processor implemented as the example controller 316 of FIG. 3. Thecontroller 316 of the illustrated example is hardware. For example, thecontroller 316 can be implemented by one or more integrated circuit(s),logic circuit(s) or microprocessor(s) from any desired family ormanufacturer. The controller 316 of the illustrated example includes alocal memory 1802 (e.g., a cache). The controller 316 of the illustratedexample also includes the example data aggregator 330, the example winddata generator 332, the example route manager 334, the example launchmanager 336, the example power manager 338 and the example shape manager340 of FIG. 3.

The controller 316 of the illustrated example is in communication withone or more example sensors 1804 via a bus 1806. The example sensors1804 include the example IMU 302, the example GPS receiver 306, theexample altimeter 308, the example accelerometer 322 and the examplegyroscope 324 of FIG. 3.

The controller 316 of the illustrated example is also in communicationwith a main memory including a volatile memory 1808 and a non-volatilememory 1810 via the bus 1806. The volatile memory 1808 may beimplemented by Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), DynamicRandom Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS Dynamic Random Access Memory (RDRAM)and/or any other type of random access memory device. The non-volatilememory 1810 may be implemented by flash memory and/or any other desiredtype of memory device. Access to the volatile memory 1808 and thenon-volatile memory 1810 is controlled by a memory controller. In theillustrated example of FIG. 18, one or both of the volatile memory 1808and/or the non-volatile memory 1810 include(s) the example memory 318 ofFIG. 3.

The processor platform 1800 of the illustrated example also includes auser interface circuit 1812. The user interface circuit 1812 may beimplemented by any type of interface standard, such as an Ethernetinterface, a universal serial bus (USB), and/or a PCI express interface.In the illustrated example, one or more input device(s) 326 areconnected to the user interface circuit 1812. The input device(s) 326permit(s) a user to enter data and commands into the controller 316. Theinput device(s) 326 can be implemented by, for example, an audio sensor,a camera (still or video), a keyboard, a button, a mouse, a touchscreen,a track-pad, a trackball, isopoint, a voice recognition system, amicrophone, and/or a liquid crystal display. One or more outputdevice(s) 328 are also connected to the user interface circuit 1812 ofthe illustrated example. The output device(s) 328 can be implemented,for example, by a light emitting diode, an organic light emitting diode,a liquid crystal display, a touchscreen and/or a speaker. The userinterface circuit 1812 of the illustrated example may, thus, include agraphics driver such as a graphics driver chip and/or processor. In theillustrated example, the input device(s) 326, the output device(s) 328and the user interface circuit 1812 collectively form the example userinterface 314 of FIG. 3.

The processor platform 1800 of the illustrated example also includes anetwork interface circuit 1814. The network interface circuit 1814 maybe implemented by any type of interface standard, such as an Ethernetinterface, a universal serial bus (USB), and/or a PCI express interface.In the illustrated example, the network interface circuit 1814 includesthe example radio transmitter 310 and the example radio receiver 312 ofFIG. 3 to facilitate the exchange of data and/or signals with externalmachines (e.g., the server 152 of FIGS. 1 and/or 4, the first, second,third and/or fourth turbines 126, 132, 138, 144 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2,etc.) via a network 1816 (e.g., a cellular network, a wireless localarea network (WLAN), etc.).

Coded instructions 1818 corresponding to FIGS. 11 and 14-16 may bestored in the local memory 1802, in the volatile memory 1808, in thenon-volatile memory 1810, and/or on a removable tangible computerreadable storage medium such as a flash memory stick, a CD or DVD.

FIG. 19 is an example processor platform 1900 capable of executing theinstructions of FIGS. 12 and 13 to implement the example server 152 ofFIGS. 1 and/or 4. The processor platform 1900 of the illustrated exampleincludes the example processor 408 of FIG. 4. The processor 408 of theillustrated example is hardware. For example, the processor 408 can beimplemented by one or more integrated circuit(s), logic circuit(s) ormicrocontrollers(s) from any desired family or manufacturer. Theprocessor 408 of the illustrated example includes a local memory 1802(e.g., a cache). The processor 408 of the illustrated example alsoincludes the example data aggregator 416, the example wind datagenerator 418 and the example route manager 419 of FIG. 4.

The processor 408 of the illustrated example is also in communicationwith a main memory including a volatile memory 1904 and a non-volatilememory 1906 via a bus 1908. The volatile memory 1904 may be implementedby Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), Dynamic RandomAccess Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS Dynamic Random Access Memory (RDRAM) and/orany other type of random access memory device. The non-volatile memory1906 may be implemented by flash memory and/or any other desired type ofmemory device. Access to the volatile memory 1904 and the non-volatilememory 1906 is controlled by a memory controller.

The processor 408 of the illustrated example is also in communicationwith one or more mass storage devices 1910 for storing software and/ordata. Examples of such mass storage devices 1910 include floppy diskdrives, hard disk drives, compact disk drives, Blu-ray disk drives, RAIDsystems, and digital versatile disk (DVD) drives. In the illustratedexample of FIG. 19, the mass storage device 1910 includes the examplememory 410 of FIG. 4.

The processor platform 1900 of the illustrated example also includes auser interface circuit 1912. The user interface circuit 1912 may beimplemented by any type of interface standard, such as an Ethernetinterface, a universal serial bus (USB), and/or a PCI express interface.In the illustrated example, one or more input device(s) 412 areconnected to the user interface circuit 1912. The input device(s) 412permit(s) a user to enter data and commands into the processor 408. Theinput device(s) 412 can be implemented by, for example, an audio sensor,a camera (still or video), a keyboard, a button, a mouse, a touchscreen,a track-pad, a trackball, isopoint, a voice recognition system, amicrophone, and/or a liquid crystal display. One or more outputdevice(s) 414 are also connected to the user interface circuit 1912 ofthe illustrated example. The output device(s) 414 can be implemented,for example, by a light emitting diode, an organic light emitting diode,a liquid crystal display, a touchscreen and/or a speaker. The userinterface circuit 1912 of the illustrated example may, thus, include agraphics driver such as a graphics driver chip and/or processor. In theillustrated example, the input device(s) 412, the output device(s) 414and the user interface circuit 1912 collectively form the example userinterface 406 of FIG. 4.

The processor platform 1900 of the illustrated example also includes anetwork interface circuit 1914. The network interface circuit 1914 maybe implemented by any type of interface standard, such as an Ethernetinterface, a universal serial bus (USB), and/or a PCI express interface.In the illustrated example, the network interface circuit 1914 includesthe example radio transmitter 402 and the example radio receiver 404 ofFIG. 4 to facilitate the exchange of data and/or signals with externalmachines (e.g., the first, second, third and/or fourth turbines 126,132, 138, 144 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2, the first, second, third and/orfourth airborne drones 158, 160, 162, 164 of FIGS. 1 and/or 3, the drone102 of FIGS. 1 and/or 3, etc.) via a network 1916 (e.g., a cellularnetwork, a wireless local area network (WLAN), etc.).

Coded instructions 1918 corresponding to FIGS. 12 and 13 may be storedin the local memory 1902, in the volatile memory 1904, in thenon-volatile memory 1906, in the mass storage device 1910, and/or on aremovable tangible computer readable storage medium such as a flashmemory stick, a CD or DVD.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that methods and apparatushave been disclosed for reducing energy consumed by a drone duringflight. Unlike such known drone applications, methods and apparatusdisclosed herein generate a route to reduce energy consumed during aflight of the drone based on wind data including turbine-generated winddata and/or airborne drone-generated wind data generated in real time ornear real time. The turbine-generated wind data and/or the airbornedrone-generated wind data advantageously provide(s) the drone withactual (e.g., not modeled), localized, real-time (or near real-time)data and/or information relating to the current airflow(s) and or windcondition(s) within one or more area(s) through which the drone is topass during a flight. By taking such actual, localized, real-time (ornear real-time) data and information into consideration when generatinga route to be followed by the drone during the flight, the drone isadvantageously able to reduce the energy consumed by the drone duringthe flight.

In some examples, a drone is disclosed. In some disclosed examples, thedrone includes a housing, a motor, and a route manager to generate aroute for a flight of the drone based on wind data. In some disclosedexamples, the wind data includes turbine-generated wind data provided byturbines that detect airflows received at the turbines. In somedisclosed examples, the turbines are located in one or more area(a)within which a segment of the flight of the drone is to occur. In somedisclosed examples, the route is to be followed by the drone during theflight to reduce energy consumed by the drone during the flight.

In some disclosed examples of the drone, the turbine-generated wind dataincludes a direction of airflow detected by a first one of the turbines,a speed of the airflow detected by the first one of the turbines, and alocation of the first one of the turbines. In some disclosed examples,the route passes through a tailwind area within which the drone is toengage a tailwind during the flight. In some disclosed examples, thetailwind is to be detected by at least one of the turbines. In somedisclosed examples, the route passes through an updraft area withinwhich the drone is to engage an updraft during the flight. In somedisclosed examples, the updraft is to be detected by at least one of theturbines.

In some disclosed examples of the drone, the wind data further includesairborne drone-generated wind data provided to the drone by an airbornedrone located in the area within which the segment of the flight of thedrone is to occur. In some disclosed examples, the airbornedrone-generated wind data is to be determined by an inertial measurementunit of the airborne drone. In some disclosed examples, the airbornedrone-generated wind data includes a direction of airflow detected bythe inertial measurement unit, a speed of the airflow detected by theinertial measurement unit, and a location of the airborne drone.

In some disclosed examples of the drone, the drone is to be launched viaa launch booster. In some disclosed examples, the launch booster is toincrease at least one of a height of the drone or a speed of the drone.In some disclosed examples, the launch booster includes at least one ofa catapult, a slingshot, a balloon, a rocket, or a vacuum chamber. Insome disclosed examples, the drone includes a power manager to providepower to the motor of the drone in response to detecting an apex of thelaunch of the drone. In some disclosed examples, the drone includes ashape manager to change a shape of the drone in response to detecting anapex of the launch of the drone.

Methods to reduce energy consumed by a drone during a flight of thedrone are also disclosed. In some disclosed examples, the methodincludes obtaining, by executing a computer readable instruction with aprocessor, wind data. In some disclosed examples, the wind data includesturbine-generated wind data provided by turbines that detect airflowsreceived at the turbines. In some disclosed examples, the turbines arelocated in one or more area(s) within which a segment of the flight isto occur. In some disclosed examples, the method includes generating, byexecuting a computer readable instruction with the processor, a routefor the flight of the drone based on wind data. In some disclosedexamples, the route is to be followed by the drone during the flight toreduce the energy consumed by the drone during the flight.

In some disclosed examples of the method, the turbine-generated winddata includes a direction of airflow detected by a first one of theturbines, a speed of the airflow detected by the first one of theturbines, and a location of the first one of the turbines. In somedisclosed examples, the route passes through a tailwind area withinwhich the drone is to engage a tailwind during the flight. In somedisclosed examples, the tailwind is to be detected by at least one ofthe turbines. In some disclosed examples, the route passes through anupdraft area within which the drone is to engage an updraft during theflight. In some disclosed examples, the updraft is to be detected by atleast one of the turbines.

In some disclosed examples of the method, the wind data further includesairborne drone-generated wind data obtained by the drone from anairborne drone located in the area within which the segment of theflight of the drone is to occur. In some disclosed examples, theairborne drone-generated wind data is determined by an inertialmeasurement unit of the airborne drone. In some disclosed examples, theairborne drone-generated wind data includes a direction of airflowdetected by the inertial measurement unit, a speed of the airflowdetected by the inertial measurement unit, and a location of theairborne drone.

In some disclosed examples of the method, the method includes launchingthe drone via a launch booster. In some disclosed examples, thelaunching of the drone via the launch booster increases at least one ofa height of the drone or a speed of the drone. In some disclosedexamples, the launching of the drone via the launch booster includes atleast one of launching the drone via a catapult, launching the drone viaa slingshot, launching the drone via a balloon, launching the drone viaa rocket, or launching the drone via a vacuum chamber. In some disclosedexamples, the method includes providing power to a motor of the drone inresponse to detecting an apex of the launch of the drone. In somedisclosed examples, the method includes changing a shape of the drone inresponse to detecting an apex of the launch of the drone.

Tangible machine-readable storage media comprising instructions are alsodisclosed. In some disclosed examples, the instructions, when executed,cause a processor to obtain wind data. In some disclosed examples, thewind data includes turbine-generated wind data provided by turbines thatdetect airflows received at the turbines. In some disclosed examples,the turbines are located in one or more area(s) within which a segmentof a flight of a drone is to occur. In some disclosed examples, theinstructions, when executed, cause the processor to generate a route forthe flight of the drone based on wind data. In some disclosed examples,the route is to be followed by the drone during the flight to reduce theenergy consumed by the drone during the flight.

In some disclosed examples of the tangible machine-readable storagemedium, the turbine-generated wind data includes a direction of airflowdetected by a first one of the turbines, a speed of the airflow detectedby the first one of the turbines, and a location of the first one of theturbines. In some disclosed examples, the route passes through atailwind area within which the drone is to engage a tailwind during theflight. In some disclosed examples, the tailwind is to be detected by atleast one of the turbines. In some disclosed examples, the route passesthrough an updraft area within which the drone is to engage an updraftduring the flight. In some disclosed examples, the updraft is to bedetected by at least one of the turbines.

In some disclosed examples of the tangible machine-readable storagemedium, the wind data further includes airborne drone-generated winddata obtained by the drone from an airborne drone located in the areawithin which the segment of the flight of the drone is to occur. In somedisclosed examples, the airborne drone-generated wind data is determinedby an inertial measurement unit of the airborne drone. In some disclosedexamples, the airborne drone-generated wind data includes a direction ofairflow detected by the inertial measurement unit, a speed of theairflow detected by the inertial measurement unit, and a location of theairborne drone.

In some disclosed examples of the tangible machine-readable storagemedium, the instructions, when executed, cause the processor to launchthe drone via a launch booster. In some disclosed examples, thelaunching of the drone via the launch booster increases at least one ofa height of the drone or a speed of the drone. In some disclosedexamples, the launching of the drone via the launch booster includes atleast one of launching the drone via a catapult, launching the drone viaa slingshot, launching the drone via a balloon, launching the drone viaa rocket, or launching the drone via a vacuum chamber. In some disclosedexamples, the instructions, when executed, cause the processor toprovide power to a motor of the drone in response to detecting an apexof the launch of the drone. In some disclosed examples, theinstructions, when executed, cause the processor to change a shape ofthe drone in response to detecting an apex of the launch of the drone.

In some disclosed examples, a drone is disclosed. In some disclosedexamples, the drone includes a housing, a motor, and route planningmeans for generating a route for a flight of the drone based on winddata. In some disclosed examples, the wind data includesturbine-generated wind data provided by airflow detecting means fordetecting airflows received at the airflow detecting means. In somedisclosed examples, the airflow detecting means is located in an areawithin which a segment of the flight of the drone is to occur. In somedisclosed examples, the route is to be followed by the drone during theflight to reduce energy consumed by the drone during the flight.

In some disclosed examples of the drone, the turbine-generated wind dataincludes a direction of airflow detected by the airflow detecting means,a speed of the airflow detected by the airflow detecting means, and alocation of the airflow detecting means. In some disclosed examples, theroute passes through a tailwind area within which the drone is to engagea tailwind during the flight. In some disclosed examples, the tailwindis to be detected by the airflow detecting means. In some disclosedexamples, the route passes through an updraft area within which thedrone is to engage an updraft during the flight. In some disclosedexamples, the updraft is to be detected by the airflow detecting means.

In some disclosed examples of the drone, the wind data includes airbornedrone-generated wind data provided to the drone by an airborne dronelocated in the area within which the segment of the flight of the droneis to occur. In some disclosed examples, the airborne drone-generatedwind data is to be determined by an inertial measurement unit of theairborne drone. In some disclosed examples, the airborne drone-generatedwind data includes a direction of airflow detected by the inertialmeasurement unit, a speed of the airflow detected by the inertialmeasurement unit, and a location of the airborne drone.

In some disclosed examples of the drone, the drone is to be launched viaa launch boosting means. In some disclosed examples, the launch boostingmeans is to increase at least one of a height of the drone or a speed ofthe drone. In some disclosed examples, the launch boosting meansincludes at least one of a catapult, a slingshot, a balloon, a rocket,or a vacuum chamber. In some disclosed examples, the drone includes apower management means for providing power to the motor of the drone inresponse to detecting an apex of the launch of the drone. In somedisclosed examples, the drone includes a shape management means forchanging a shape of the drone in response to detecting an apex of thelaunch of the drone.

Although certain example methods, apparatus and articles of manufacturehave been disclosed herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is notlimited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all methods,apparatus and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope ofthe claims of this patent.

1. A drone, comprising: a housing; a motor; and a route manager togenerate a route for a flight of the drone based on wind data, the winddata including turbine-generated wind data provided by turbines thatdetect airflows received at the turbines, the turbines located in anarea within which a segment of the flight is to occur, the route to befollowed by the drone during the flight to reduce energy consumed by thedrone during the flight.
 2. A drone as defined in claim 1, wherein theturbine-generated wind data includes a direction of airflow detected bya first one of the turbines, a speed of the airflow detected by thefirst one of the turbines, and a location of the first one of theturbines.
 3. A drone as defined in claim 1, wherein the route passesthrough a tailwind area within which the drone is to engage a tailwindduring the flight, the tailwind to be detected by at least one of theturbines.
 4. A drone as defined in claim 1, wherein the route passesthrough an updraft area within which the drone is to engage an updraftduring the flight, the updraft to be detected by at least one of theturbines.
 5. A drone as defined in claim 1, wherein the wind datafurther includes airborne drone-generated wind data provided to thedrone by an airborne drone located in the area within which the segmentof the flight is to occur, the airborne drone-generated wind data to bedetermined by an inertial measurement unit of the airborne drone, theairborne drone-generated wind data including a direction of airflowdetected by the inertial measurement unit, a speed of the airflowdetected by the inertial measurement unit, and a location of theairborne drone.
 6. A drone as defined in claim 1, wherein the drone isto be launched via a launch booster.
 7. A drone as defined in claim 6,wherein the launch booster is to increase at least one of a height ofthe drone or a speed of the drone.
 8. A drone as defined in claim 6,wherein the launch booster includes at least one of a catapult, aslingshot, a balloon, a rocket, or a vacuum chamber.
 9. A drone asdefined in claim 6, wherein the drone includes a power manager toprovide power to the motor of the drone in response to detecting an apexof the launch of the drone.
 10. A drone as defined in claim 6, whereinthe drone includes a shape manager to change a shape of the drone inresponse to detecting an apex of the launch of the drone.
 11. A methodto reduce energy consumed by a drone during a flight of the drone, themethod comprising: obtaining, by executing a computer readableinstruction with a processor, wind data including turbine-generated winddata provided by turbines that detect airflows received at the turbines,the turbines located in an area within which a segment of the flight isto occur; and generating, by executing a computer readable instructionwith the processor, a route for the flight of the drone based on winddata, the route to be followed by the drone during the flight to reducethe energy consumed by the drone during the flight.
 12. A method asdefined in claim 11, wherein the turbine-generated wind data includes adirection of airflow detected by a first one of the turbines, a speed ofthe airflow detected by the first one of the turbines, and a location ofthe first one of the turbines.
 13. A method as defined in claim 11,wherein the wind data further includes airborne drone-generated winddata obtained by the drone from an airborne drone located in the areawithin which the segment of the flight is to occur, the airbornedrone-generated wind data determined by an inertial measurement unit ofthe airborne drone, the airborne drone-generated wind data including adirection of airflow detected by the inertial measurement unit, a speedof the airflow detected by the inertial measurement unit, and a locationof the airborne drone.
 14. A method as defined in claim 11, furtherincluding launching the drone via a launch booster.
 15. A method asdefined in claim 14, wherein the launching of the drone via the launchbooster includes at least one of launching the drone via a catapult,launching the drone via a slingshot, launching the drone via a balloon,launching the drone via a rocket, or launching the drone via a vacuumchamber.
 16. A method as defined in claim 14, further includingproviding power to a motor of the drone in response to detecting an apexof the launch of the drone.
 17. A method as defined in claim 14, furtherincluding changing a shape of the drone in response to detecting an apexof the launch of the drone.
 18. A tangible machine-readable storagemedium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a processor toat least: obtain wind data including turbine-generated wind dataprovided by turbines that detect airflows received at the turbines, theturbines located in an area within which a segment of a flight of adrone is to occur; and generate a route for the flight of the dronebased on wind data, the route to be followed by the drone during theflight to reduce energy consumed by the drone during the flight.
 19. Amachine-readable storage medium as defined in claim 18, wherein theturbine-generated wind data includes a direction of airflow detected bya first one of the turbines, a speed of the airflow detected by thefirst one of the turbines, and a location of the first one of theturbines.
 20. A machine-readable storage medium as defined in claim 18,wherein the wind data further includes airborne drone-generated winddata obtained by the drone from an airborne drone located in the areawithin which the segment of the flight is to occur, the airbornedrone-generated wind data determined by an inertial measurement unit ofthe airborne drone, the airborne drone-generated wind data including adirection of airflow detected by the inertial measurement unit, a speedof the airflow detected by the inertial measurement unit, and a locationof the airborne drone. 21-25. (canceled)